Close Brothers' Winterflood unit continues to struggle in Q3

Merchant banking group Close Brothers said on Thursday that its Winterflood financial planning and investment service unit has continued to struggle amid considerable headwinds in the equity trading market.

Close Brothers said Winterflood posted a £2.5m loss for the three months ended 31 October due to a weakening of investor appetite and market uncertainty.

However, its banking business reported a loan book increase of 7.5% year-on-year to £9.8bn, reflecting a continuation of the momentum seen in the second half of the 2023 financial year, and a steady bad debt ratio of 1%.

The FTSE 250-listed firm noted Close Brothers Asset Management saw net inflows of 10%, while managed assets decreased slightly in the third quarter to £16.2bn.

Looking forward, Close Brothers said its banking business was well positioned to make the most of opportunities in the current environment, while its asset management unit remains committed to driving growth organically.

Chief executive Adrian Sainsbury said: "Performance in the first quarter of 2024 reflected continued momentum in banking, whilst our market-facing businesses were impacted by unfavourable market conditions.

"We are successfully implementing our strategy in the current environment, leveraging our long-term relationships, the deep expertise of our people, and our customer-centric approach to deliver disciplined growth."

As of 1025 GMT, Close Brothers shares were down 2.53% at 769.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com