Ashcourt Rowan profits fall as Syndicate merger complete

03 August 2010

Ashcourt Rowan's operating profit fell to £2.72m for the year to 31 March compared to £2.96m the previous period, as the wealth manager completed its merger into Syndicate Asset Management. However, Ashcourt Rowan's revenue for the year rose to £21.09m compared to £20.65m in 2009. Approximately 58% was related to financial planning advice while 41% came from discretionary and advisory asset management business. Ashcourt Rowan now accounts for £2.3bn of Syndicate's total £5.6bn funds under management at the end of March 2010. Zenith Funds, another part of Syndicate AM which provides a range of investment funds including multi-manager products, saw a loss in revenue from £4.34m in 2009 to £2.69m for the year ending 31 March 2010. Syndicate plans to sell off the group's Guernsey-based ‘Class B' funds, which make up the majority of Zenith Funds, as they are not core to Syndicate's business. It is currently in exclusive negotiations with a third-party about a possible deal. Meanwhile, Syndicate AM, which is focused on further consolidating the wealth management space, announced it suffered a loss before tax of £2.50m over the period compared to a loss of £19.07m the previous year. Chairman Peter Dew said the group had faced a number of external and internal issues over the year, which led to a comprehensive restructure of the business. Revenues for the year were £35.68m compared to £37.5m during the previous year. However, Syndicate said there was a significant improvement in the second half when revenues rose 8% compared to H1, reflecting higher market levels and increased trading volumes. Earnings (EBITDA) showed a loss of £1.109m for Syndicate but this reflects one-off costs of £3.5m incurred as a result of the restructure. Published by IFAOnline