Charles Stanley gets boost from Christmas stockmarket rally

The Christmas stockmarket rally came as a handy boost for private-client stockbroker Charles Stanley, which has 32 offices across the country.

The value of funds managed by Stanley rose by 5.3 per cent to £6.1 billion between the end of September and the end of December.

Over the same period the FTSE 100 was up by 5.4 per cent, while the more broadly based Apcimes portfolio increased by 2.5 per cent. Stanley's revenues for the same three months were 5.2 per cent higher than a year ago.

The stockbroker said it "had shown resilience in what remain difficult trading conditions".

Shareholders are being paid a second interim dividend of 5p a share.

The shareholders are also being promised that the total dividend for the year to March will be no less than last year's 8.75p, assuming that the stock market does not collapse.