Quayle Munro’s figures lifted by strong second half

Corporate finance adviser Quayle Munro said a strong second half helped it make profits of £3 million despite scaling down the investment side of the business.

The firm, which is based in Edinburgh and London, reported revenue of £14.7m the 12 months to 30 June, down from £15.7m the previous year.

This time last year Quayle Munro surprised shareholders with a £1 a share special dividend after selling its stakes in Aberdeen-based Submersible Technology Holdings and retailer Cath Kidston.

There was no repeat of that this year but the company did propose a final dividend of 22p, up 10 per cent, taking the total dividend to 32p per share.

Chairman Andrew Tuckey said last year had been exceptional. “I wish we had more investments to sell but we haven’t,” he said. “The emphasis of the business has changed. Three years ago it was an investment company with a small advisory on the size, now its an advisory business with some investments.

“We certainly don’t rule out making investments, but we are extremely careful and selective, and this is not a bad time to be well cashed up.”

Quayle Munro retains one major investment, a 24 per cent stake in housebuilder Morris.

The company highlighted what it calls a “normalised” profit before tax of £3m, down from £3.1m in the previous year. The figure strips out the effects of bonus payments to staff made in shares in previous years, which caused the firm to make a paper loss in the first half.

Tuckey said: “We regard this as being a most acceptable outcome, particularly when viewed against the market for advisory business which was especially difficult last year.

“While it is hard in our business to predict the outcome of the following year, our pipeline of prospects is good and our name and reputation in the market is growing.”