Nucleus posts solid second-quarter performance

The AIM-traded firm noted that by comparison, the FTSE All-Share index increased 17.7% year-on-year, and 4.8% over the prior quarter.

It said gross inflows of £578m were achieved in the three months ended 30 June, making for a 50.5% increase over the second quarter of 2020, while net inflows were up 17% to £193m.

Advisers actively using the platform increased 0.5% over the prior quarter, and by 2.6% year-on-year, while customer numbers were ahead 1% quarter-on-quarter and 2.9% over the prior year.

Investment in the platform proposition continued through the second quarter, the board said, with the introduction of next-day payments ensuring faster withdrawals and income payments for clients.

It also launched new adviser access to its client portal ‘Nucleus Go’ through 'Adviser View', and near real-time platform reports, which would ensure data from the platform was “as up to date as it possibly can be”, minutes behind core platform transactions.

Following the acquisition of the relevant assets of OpenWealth in December, a new Glasgow office was opened in May.

The James Hay takeover offer received shareholder acceptances of over 94%, and was declared unconditional as to acceptances.

Nucleus said a change in control application was currently pending approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.

“The first quarter of 2021 was incredibly strong for new business activity, and it was pleasing to see inflow momentum continue throughout the second quarter and to reach £19bn of assets under administration following the quarter end,” said founder and chief executive officer David Ferguson.

“It was a particularly resilient performance given the ongoing uncertainty of the takeover process and reflects the ongoing achievements and fortitude of our people along with our commitment to continually improving the core platform proposition for our users.”

At 0800 BST, shares in Nucleus Financial Group were down 3.17% at 183p.