Close Brothers Group has announced an operating profit of £131m
for the year ending 31 July, up 13% on the same period a year
before.
Its performance was mainly boosted by a good
showing from its banking division, which includes asset and motor
finance, which increased its adjusted operating profit to £106m, a
34% rise on 2009-10. The asset management division, however,
recorded an adjusted operating loss of £9m (€10.3m) and its
securities division delivered a reduced adjusted operating profit,
down 8% to £55m.
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Close Brothers Group chief executive Preben
Prebensen sad: “We have made significant progress in repositioning
the group to focus on those businesses where we see the highest
long-term potential and, during the year, we have completed several
disposals which have streamlined and simplified the group.”
Close Brothers Group achieved organic loan book
growth of 18% for the year, to £3.4bn (2009-2010 £2.9bn), and has
increased its front line sales staff by more than 20% in the past
two years, including adding to its dealer relationships in motor
finance, opening new branches in motor and property finance, and
increasing its leverage of its broker network in asset finance.
Prebensen said: “We continue to see good
opportunities for growth in our core markets and our priority
remains to continue to grow in these areas. At the same time we are
selectively exploring opportunities for growth in adjacent product
areas that are consistent with our existing lending model and
conservative risk appetite.
“In commercial, we have continued to build our
presence in larger ticket invoice finance following our acquisition
of a loan book last year. We are also expanding our asset finance
business into complementary asset classes. In retail, the motor
finance business continues to see significant growth through the
key accounts team, which deals directly with larger dealerships and
franchises.”
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By GlobalDataThe group’s retail loan book increased 23% to
£1,481.5m (2009-2010: £1,201.9m), corresponding to a 22% increase
in the average loan book. This was achieved while maintaining
strong margins, resulting in a 23% increase in income to £128.8m
(2009-10: £104.9 million). Its loan book growth in premium finance
was largely achieved through increased new business volumes from
existing brokers in personal insurance. Close extended its branch
and dealer network, and achieved high new business volumes in both
its core used car financing and its recently established key
accounts business, which serves larger dealerships and
franchises.
