Manchester investment firm is now valued at more than £1bn
The value of Manchester investment firm AJ Bell has passed the £1bn mark in the three months since it first floated on the Stock Market.
At market close yesterday the AJ Bell share price was 285p representing a market capitalisation of £1.16bn. The company was valued at £650m when it was first listed late last year.
AJ Bell issued its first trading statement on the Stock Market this morning covering its first three months since launching on the main market.
The company sad its platform customer numbers increased by 7,285 to 190,498, up four per cent during the period.
Underlying Platform inflows increased 20% to £1.2 bn, compared to £1bn in the same period last year
Andy Bell, the chief executive officer and founder of AJ Bell, owns a quarter of the shares.
He said: “Trading in the first quarter of our financial year continued in line with the growth story we outlined ahead of our IPO and remains on track.
“We continued to attract new customers and inflows to the platform in the face of volatile investment markets, which demonstrates the strength and resilience of our business model as we approach our busiest period of the year.
“Our low-cost and easy-to-use investment platform continues to appeal to both retail customers and financial advisers, and providing high quality service to them remains our top priority.”
He added: “Platforms have been one of the main beneficiaries of defined benefit pension transfers.
“These have declined steadily since their peak seen in financial year 2017 and we expect this decline to continue.
“Despite this and short-term market volatility, the outlook for the platform market remains strong.
“The FCA is due to deliver the final report of its Investment Platforms Market Study and based on its interim report this is expected to focus on value for money and easier transfers between platforms.
“Our competitive pricing model and service proposition means we are well positioned to benefit from anticipated developments in these areas.”
AJ Bell listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on 7 December 2018 at 160p per share giving the company a market capitalisation of £650m on listing.
At market close yesterday the AJ Bell share price was 285p representing a market capitalisation of £1.16bn.
AJ Bell management and staff are subject to a one year lock-in period following the IPO in respect of 100% of their shareholdings and to a further one year lock-in period in respect of 50% of their shareholdings.
As part of the IPO, Andy Bell’s shareholding reduced from 28% to 25% and Invesco Perpetual’s shareholding reduced from 44% to 25%, leaving them as the two largest shareholders.
