Peel Hunt H1 revenues drop but investment banking division shines

Peel Hunt reported a record performance from its investment banking division in its maiden results on Wednesday, but a drop in overall profit and revenue.

In the six months to 28 September, pre-tax profit fell 47.9% to £29.5m on revenue of £71.4m, down 23.4% on the same period a year ago. Peel noted that the pre-tax profit figure includes the impact of costs associated with its recent IPO.

It also said the drop in revenue was in line with expectations as the exceptional trading and heightened market activity seen in the first half of last year due to the pandemic returned to more normal levels.

The investment banking unit was a bright spot, however, with revenue up 43% to £32.7m and investment banking fees up 48.5% to £28.8m. This marked the division’s strongest half-year on record.

Chief executive officer Steven Fine said: "I'm really pleased with our overall performance in the first half. Our investment banking team delivered record six-month revenue and we continue to grow our client base and retainer income. We're seeing further progress and market share gains in our institutional business.

"We continue to grow our number of retained investment banking clients and have a healthy deal pipeline with a strong balance of transactions. We're well positioned to execute our growth plans, which include opening a European office to support our growing distribution franchise across the continent. We remain on track to deliver on our budget for the year."