Hargreaves Lansdown lifts revenue and eyes benefits of Lloyds Bank offer

Hargreaves Lansdown reported an increase in new clients, though assets under administration have dipped due to the tough market.

The FTSE 100 wealth manager posted a trading update for the quarter to 30 September on Wednesday that showed active clients rose by 24,000, compared to 10,000 in the same quarter last year, bringing its total client base to 760,000.

Revenue also rose by 11% to £78.5m, driven primarily by strong growth in year on year assets and increased equity dealing volumes.

However total assets under administration have fallen by £0.5bn during the quarter, a fall of 1% on the £55.2bn reported at the end of June.

The company said the dip was due to the FTSE All Share falling 6.57% in the quarter, primarily driven by concerns about the Chinese economy.

Chief executive Ian Gorham said stock market levels and investor confidence will be a factor in the rest of the financial year.

“However, we remain confident of growing the business further to the benefit of our clients and shareholders.”

He noted next year’s Lloyds sale has had considerable interest so far and could benefit the company, as the Royal Mail flotation had done in 2013.

“A sizeable number of people buy their first ever share via an IPO, and retail share offers are therefore very important in encouraging the UK public to invest.”

Analysts at Shore Capital said just a 1% fall in AuA was "a good result" given the FTSE AllShare's much larger dip, with the growth in revenue similarly a good performance.