Financial services group boosts revenues and continues momentum into new period
Frenkel Topping, the Salford-based financial services group, reported a strong year of trading this morning, and an “encouraging” start to its current fiscal year.
The group achieved turnover of £24.8m, in the year to December 31, 2022, a 35% increase on the previous year’s figure of £18.4m. However, pre-tax profits fell from £2.694m in 2021 to £2.418m. The shareholders’ dividend rises by one per cent from 1.36p per share to 1.37p.
The group said the results marked the 14th consecutive year of high client retention (99%) for investment management services.
Assets under management (AUM) rose one per cent to £1.187bn, compared with 31.174bn the previous year.
In Ascencia, assets on a discretionary mandate were up six per cent to £715m.
Net Growth in Ascencia demonstrates the resilience of the inhouse DFM Funds in a turbulent market, the group said.
The acquisition of Cardinal Management, Somek & Associates and N-Able Services completed during the year.
An additional working-in-partnership agreement was signed with CFG Law.
The current financial year has seen continued integration of acquisitions made to date, with the first three months of trading described as “robust” and in line with management expectations.
Additional working-in-partnership agreements have been signed with Serious Injury Law.
Frenkel Topping said the executive and management team is focused on the next stage of growth and the drive to double market share and target doubling of revenue over the next five years.
Chief executive, Richard Fraser, said: “Our 2022 results demonstrate our focused approach to delivering on our acquisition strategy, along with the organic growth of our enlarged group, in order to deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients, both professional and individuals.
“We are continuing to develop a market-leading suite of services from which to offer greater breadth of support to people who have suffered significant and often life changing injuries. Our impressive client retention rate reflects our clients’ trust and confidence in us to manage their money conservatively.
“We are particularly proud of the performance of the group’s discretionary fund manager, Ascencia Investment Management, where assets on a DFM Mandate increased to £715m (2021: £676m).”
He added: “Comparing Ascencia’s positive performance against a backdrop of wider market contraction and material outflows further demonstrates Ascencia’s success in managing multi-asset investment solutions that are positioned to capture the upside of market fluctuations, while aiming to reduce the negative impact of market turbulence on client assets.
“Ascencia’s strong performance in the previous financial year continued last year, with the core risk-rated strategies outperforming their respective private client indices/ARC indices. It is testament to the group’s in-house strategy and approach to risk management.
“The company views the Ascencia platform as a clear growth opportunity in the coming years and a key tool to winning future business. Ascencia portfolios are currently defensively positioned given the uncertain and opaque investment outlook, with cash ready to be deployed should the opportunity arise.
“The current financial year has begun robustly giving cause for optimism for the remainder of the year.
The board remain focused on delivering value for all stakeholders and are happy to report that the broup is trading in line with management’s expectations.”
CFO, Elaine Cullen-Grant, said: “Despite a challenging market, we delivered a strong set of financial results, in no small part a reflection of our delivery against a focused acquisition strategy resulting in diversified revenue streams.
“This, coupled with control on costs, has meant we were able to maintain our adjusted EBITDA margin at 25% and mitigate the slight reduction in recurring revenue.
“We are well positioned to continue to grow the business in the year ahead and are pleased with the 2023 performance to date”
