WH Ireland posts £1.5m loss after being hit by one-off costs

Financial services firm WH Ireland said its focus for 2018 was to become a “consistently profitable company” after a spate of exceptional costs left it with an annual loss of £1.5m.

Revenues for the 12 months to 30 November were ahead 12% at £28.5m, but profits were hit by £494,000 of restructuring costs, £903,000 to outsource the back office function of its wealth management arm and another £196,000 to comply with the European Union’s new regulatory changes, known as MiFID II.

The revamped rules are designed to provide greater protection for investors as well as improved transparency across asset classes.

Chairman Tim Steel told investors that “regulatory change and its impact is disproportionately felt by smaller companies such as ourselves” but the firm had been “well prepared” for the implementation of MiFID II on 3 January.

He added that the past 12 months had been “challenging but ultimately beneficial to the creation of a modern, advice-driven financial services company” and that “moving to a consistently profitably company is the key focus on the senior management team for 2018”.

As part of the move, WH Ireland’s remuneration structure has been overhauled and is now focused on profitability, compliance and culture rather than just revenues.

The 2017 annual loss of £1.5m compares to the previous year’s loss of £3m.