City round-up: Together Financial Services; Rathbones Group; MONY Group
Cheadle-based specialist property lender, Together Financial Services, said it has delivered a strong third quarter period in the three months to March 31, 2025.
Interest receivable and similar income was £218.5m, up 11% on the same period a year ago and broadly in line with the previous quarter’s £220.2m.
The group said it remains highly profitable and cash generative. Underlying profit before tax was £57.5m, up 11% on the same quarter in 2024 and up 3.2% on quarter two this year, primarily due to the increase in net interest income during the period.
Cash receipts were £900.1m, compared with £730.5m in Q3 2024 and £913.4m in Q2 2025 following a strong quarter for redemptions.
Group CEO, Richard Rowntree, said: “Together delivered another strong performance during the quarter with the loan book reaching £7.8bn, net interest margin remaining highly attractive at 5.5%, net interest income up 13% and underlying profit before tax up 11% on the same quarter last year.
“We successfully raised or refinanced £2.5bn across five transactions during the quarter, as we continued to broaden our funding and raise additional liquidity to support our growth ambitions. Our transformation programme is progressing through the build phase and our pipeline is up 21% compared with Q2 ’25, indicating continued robust demand for our products.”
He added: “Looking forward, the outlook for the UK economy is mixed, with easing inflation and expectations of further interest rate cuts offset by global economic uncertainty due to trade tensions and tariff wars.
“However, Together has a successful multi-cycle track record and long term structural trends support an increase in demand for specialist lending solutions. Against this backdrop, we remain cautiously optimistic and will continue to help customers realise their property ambitions, as we have for the last 50 years.”
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The Port of Liverpool Building
Wealth management group, Rathbones, said its foundations for future growth are strong, in a trading update for the three months ended March 31, 2025, today.
The group, which has a key operation at the Port of Liverpool Building, said funds under management and administration (FUMA) declined 4.7% to £104.1bn at the quarter end, compared with £109.2bn at December 31, 2024. This comprised Rathbones Investment Management (RIM) FUMA at April 4, and FUMA for the remainder of the group at March 31, and reflected market volatility.
Gross inflows totalled £2.7bn in the first quarter (Q4 2024: £3.2bn), reflecting the impact of the focus on migration activity, which was at its peak during the quarter. Outflows totalled £3.5bn (Q4 2024: £3.4bn) in the period.
Despite the challenging market backdrop, the group sasid its total operating income remained resilient, totalling £220.1m for the quarter (Q1 2024: £223.6m). While there was a decline in fee-based income, this was primarily driven by market volatility at the time of client billing.
As anticipated, transaction-based commission income in March 2025 was notably flatter than normal, reflecting a more muted seasonal spike due to the higher level of client portfolio activity that arose ahead of the 2024 Autumn Budget.
Two months ago, group chief executive, Paul Stockton, announced he will retire on September 30 this year, to be replaced by Jonathan Sorrell.
Paul Stockton said: “Rathbones reached a major milestone in April 2025, successfully migrating 90% of Investec Wealth & Investment (IW&I) client accounts onto the Rathbones platform.
“This marks significant progress in the integration of IW&I and, while there is still work to do, the group remains on track to complete the migration of remaining clients by the end of the second quarter as planned.”
He added: “In a quarter that witnessed some considerable market turbulence, the group saw net outflows, primarily due to a lower level of gross inflows as the final stages of the migration process impacted IW&I in particular.
“Market volatility reinforces the enduring value of long term, relationship-led wealth management, and creates opportunities for asset managers, but sustained volatility can also impact revenue and profitability. Wealth management FUMA valuations and fee income calculations at the end of the quarter coincided with a moment of particular market weakness.
“This heightens the need for our ongoing cost discipline, and whilst we continue to invest to support growth opportunities and deliver synergy benefits, we will be looking to manage operational cost levels actively to mitigate these effects on profitability as much as possible.”
He said: “The foundations for future growth are strong, and I look forward to welcoming Jonathan Sorrell when he joins us in July, securing a smooth leadership transition that continues to support our clients and colleagues as we look towards the next chapter for the group.”
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MONY Group, formerly Moneysupermarket, updated the market on its trading between January 1, to April 2025, ahead of its annual general meeting today.
The group, based in Ewloe, near Chester, said its management expectations for the full year remain unchanged.
It said it has delivered a modest increase in revenue relative to an exceptionally strong comparative period in 2024.
This has been achieved through leveraging the strength in breadth of the group’s established portfolio of products and brands.
Insurance delivered a good performance in home, life and travel, in large part offsetting the continued headwinds in the car insurance switching market.
Money has seen continued momentum in borrowing from H2 2024 contributing to modest growth, despite fewer attractive banking promotions.
Home Services has achieved strong growth – in energy an increasing number of providers offered promotional deals in advance of the April price cap, and in broadband we have added more providers to our platform.
Travel remains stable, despite the challenging economic conditions and uncertainty currently impacting the UK consumer, though this has impacted Cashback.
The group said it has delivered strong growth in its SuperSaveClub (SSC) which now has more than 1.3 million members.
In line with its established capital allocation policy, the group launched a share buyback programme of up to £30m on February 17, 2025. The programme, funded by expected free cash flow, is progressing well with more than £8m repurchased to date, and is on target to conclude in late 2025.
Looking ahead, it said: “We remain well positioned to deliver sustainable, profitable growth. Our trading performance in the first four months of the year coupled with continued momentum in the execution of our strategy underpins the board’s continued confidence that adjusted EBITDA for the year will be in line with current market expectations, which are £145.1m, with a range of £136.5m to £151.7m.
