AFH Financial grows profits 85% in active consolidation year

Pre-tax profits reach £1.6m

Carmen Reichman
clock • 1 min read

AIM-listed adviser consolidator AFH Financial has almost doubled its pre-tax profits to £1.6m after buying 11 advice firms and boosting its recurring income.

The consolidator posted a pre-tax profit growth of 85% in the year to October 2015, up from £861,000 in 2014.

It reported an income of £21m in 2015, representing a growth of 40% on the previous year, when it recorded a turnover of £15m.

The firm made 11 acquisitions during the period, growing its adviser base from 136 to 158.

Chairman John Wheatley said in the company's annual report out on 28 January the firm saw a hike in new business after the May General Election when more clients sought pension and investment advice.

The firm also benefited from "a significant rise" in recurring fee income, increasing its average pre-tax revenue per adviser to £143,000 a year, or £13.6m (2014: £8.25m) in total, representing 65% of its total income, he said.

AFH listed on the AIM in June 2014. The firms has since built up cash reserves of £8m and plans to continue making acquisitions in the coming year, chief executive Alan Hudson added.

"Since the year-end we have entered into discussions with a number of potential acquisitions. We have identified a strong pipeline of opportunities on which we will begin due diligence during the first six months of 2016," he said.

During the year, AFH's active funds under management doubled to about £1.8bn from £0.9bn in 2014.

About £700m was added as a result of acquisitions during the period, while £200m represented inflows from existing and new clients of the core business, Hudson said.

About 90% of new business was placed with the company's discretionary service, which at the year-end managed £700m.

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