Brewin Dolphin raises £40m to fund efficiency drive

Wealth manager Brewin Dolphin today raised almost £40 million from the markets in order to accelerate its efficiency drive.

The group unveiled the placing alongside interim results showing a rise in pre-tax profits to £23.8m in the six months to the end of March, compared to £18.9m a year earlier. The bull run on world markets helped it grow assets under management to £28.1 billion, from £25.9bn at the start of the period.

Brewin said the £39.9m share placing, completed yesterday and equivalent to 7.5 per cent of its existing issued share capital, would provide it with additional funds not just for its efficiency drive but also to bolster its capital and expand by hiring more regional teams.

Chief executive David Nicol said: “We are now two years into the transformation and growth strategy announced in 2011. We have made good progress against our stated objectives including delivering strong growth in funds under management.

“The new capital will provide us with additional investment capacity, enabling us to accelerate the implementation of our on-going strategy, capitalise on our competitive position and drive future growth in earnings and shareholder returns.”

The firm recently said it was cutting a tenth of its Edinburgh staff as it relocates to new offices in the city, with the loss of 23 jobs.

Brewin was the first company to announce it would take up office space at Atria, the seven-storey office building next to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC).