A surge in stock market activity coupled with strong growth in specialist lending saw Close Brothers increase operating profits by 20% in the past year to £201 million.
Share dealing arm Winterflood saw profits leap 57% as interest returned to smaller quoted companies and retail investors jumped on flotations.
“Things were a bit more subdued through August and early September,” chief executive Preben Prebensen said.
“But there are signs it’s coming back. Last year we were firing on all three cylinders — banking, securities and asset management.”
The boost in corporate saw broker Panmure Gordon’s half-year profits jump from £300,000 to £1.9 million, with the chief executive saying: “We have an encouraging pipeline of corporate transactions and look forward to the rest of the year with confidence.”
