Liberty SIPP shines in year of dramatic growth
FAST-growing North West pensions provider Liberty SIPP has reported a surge in profits and turnover today announced plans to boost its headcount by a third in the next 12 months.
The Bury-based company saw turnover break through the million-pound barrier for the first time in the year to the end of March as revenues rocketed from £889,349 to £1.56m. There was similar strong growth at the bottom line too as pre-tax profits more than doubled from £337,647 to £682,272.
Liberty SIPP, owned by its founder and managing director John Fox and deal-maker Ian Currie, said it was well-prepared for changes in the pensions market place.
To this end it has retained assets of over £1m and cash reserves of £970,974 in readiness for anticipated enhanced capital adequacy requirements for providers of Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP).
Liberty, which was founded in 2007, attributes its growth to its transparent fee structure. This month it recorded its 3,000th SIPP, with funds under management of £200m. It currently has 23 members of staff and is looking to recruit a further 10 over the next 12 months.
Commenting on the figures John Fox said: “These results represent a significant milestone in the growth of the firm and gives clients confidence that this is a robust and well-funded business, as well as being customer focused and innovative.”
“2013 will also be a challenging year for many in the SIPP market particularly with the Financial Conduct Authority consultation paper on capital adequacy being discussed and then implemented by April 2014. At Liberty we knew that these changes were afoot and as a board we have been very diligent in building up our cash resources in anticipation of these changes.
“We are pleased to say that we are probably one of very few in the market who would have sufficient capital adequacy should the rules come into effect immediately.
“The introduction of a tougher requirement for capital has caused seismic changes across the pensions industry; however the nimble scale of Liberty SIPP, combined with its existing transparent fee structure, may provide a competitive advantage over larger providers struggling to adjust to the regulatory demands,” Mr Fox added.
The business has also entered into a number of partnerships with execution-only brokers to help broaden the services on offer to their customers.
