Liontrust is looking to make more acquisitions and poach fund managers from rivals as it reported higher profits and assets under management.
The company’s half year results, covering the six months to September 2019, showed the company had assets under management of £14.6bn, rising to £17.4bn by November 18.
The increase in the six weeks following the accounting period was largely due to the integration of £2.7bn of assets from the acquisition of rival fund house Neptune, which was completed in October.
Liontrust’s profits before tax for the six month period were £9.3m, compared with £7.8m in 2018.
The company bought Alliance Trust Investments and hired the heads of fixed income from Kames in 2017, and earlier this year it completed the acquisition of Neptune.
Alastair Barbour, Liontrust's chairman, said: "Liontrust will strive to continue to meet [its] objectives through organic growth along with strategic hires and acquisitions. The addition of the sustainable investment and global fixed income teams over the past two and a half years have contributed significantly to the further expansion of the company.
"We are confident the acquisition of Neptune Investment Management, which completed on October 1, will do the same given its investment capability and the broadening of our fund range that it brings to Liontrust."
The assets under management of the sustainable investment team, which was acquired with Alliance Trust Investments, have doubled since 2017, reaching £4.6bn.
The company had net inflows of £1.4bn for the six months to the end of September 2019, almost double the £723m of net inflows for the same period in 2018.
david.thorpe@ft.com
What do you think about the issues raised by this story? Email us on fa.letters@ft.com to let us know.
