Bank of England rate rise to boost IFG revenues

Irish-founded financial services group IFG has said the Bank of England’s recent interest rate rise will boost revenues and operating margins next year.

Bank of England rate rise to boost IFG revenues

Irish-founded financial services group IFG has said the Bank of England’s recent interest rate rise will boost revenues and operating margins next year.

In its latest trading update for the first 10 months of the year, the group, now solely focused on the UK financial advisory and pensions market, reiterated confidence for its financial improvement next year after being blighted by restructuring and legal costs in 2017.

While it said the rise from 0.25% to 0.5% in UK interest rates won’t have a material impact on its specialist pension unit James Hay this year, it will improve revenues and the operating margin in 2018.

IFG also said assets under administration and advice have topped the £30bn mark and its total customer base now numbers more than 60,000 people.

At the end of August IFG reported a first half operating loss of £100,000, down from a profit of £4m a year earlier due to exceptional costs of £2.7m relating to legal and remediation costs connected to a probe into an investment scheme sold to James Hay clients.

However, management also, at the time, expressed confidence of seeing a marked financial improvement next year.

Yesterday’s update, however, said no further progress has been made with Britain’s revenue authorities over the so-called Elysian Fuels investment scheme sold to James Hay customers. IFG had said that it hoped to resolve the issue before the end of this year.

Merrion analyst Darren McKinley said IFG’s update was upbeat relative to recent editions and “a positive surprise”.

more courts articles

Stephen Bear ordered to pay back profits from sharing private sex tape Stephen Bear ordered to pay back profits from sharing private sex tape
Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told
Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother

More in this section

FILE PHOTO The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has cleared the purchase of Goodbody Stockbrokers by AIB END Goodbody Stockbrokers fined over €1.2m by Central Bank over rules breaches
Nottingham City Centre Stock Irish staff at the Body Shop wait for wages as retailer shuts stores in the Republic
Ryanair comments on Norwegian Ryanair boss O'Leary's spat with Transport Minister over Dublin Airport escalates
IE logo
Devices


UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE IRISH EXAMINER FOR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS
FIND OUT MORE

The Business Hub
Newsletter

News and analysis on business, money and jobs from Munster and beyond by our expert team of business writers.

Sign up
ie logo
Puzzles Logo

Play digital puzzles like crosswords, sudoku and a variety of word games including the popular Word Wheel

Lunchtime News
Newsletter

Keep up with the stories of the day with our lunchtime news wrap.

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited