RM sell-off helps Hargreaves Lansdown make record profits

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Royal Mail sell-off helps Hargreaves Lansdown make record profits

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Retail broker made pre-tax profits of £209.8m after record numbers of people bought Royal Mail shares through company

The founders of Hargreaves Lansdown have reaped more than £68m in annual dividends after Royal Mail's flotation boosted business at the investment company.

Peter Hargreaves, who owns 32.18% of the firm, will make £45.7m while Stephen Lansdown, who owns 15.92%, according to Reuters, will receive £22.6m.

Pre-tax profit for the year ended 30 June increased 7% to a record £209.8m as a record 144,000 clients invested through the company. Business was helped by feverish activity on the stock market in the wake of Royal Mail's blockbuster privatisation in October.

Ian Gorham, Hargreaves Lansdown's chief executive, said: "A busy year of stock market activity has been beneficial to Hargreaves Lansdown in terms of adding new clients and new business. Of particular note was the Royal Mail flotation, where around 118,000 people, approximately 18.5% of the UK public who invested in Royal Mail shares, did so through Hargreaves Lansdown."

The high demand put a strain on Hargreaves Lansdown's service, prompting the company to make improvements in time for the flotation of TSB and the launch of private investor favourite Neil Woodford's fund in June.

As a result of increased business and profits, Hargreaves Lansdown increased its annual dividend, comprising ordinary and special dividends, by 8% to 32.0p per share. The total payout is £142.01m.

Hargreaves launched the company from a spare room in his Bristol flat in 1981. He and Lansdown floated the business, which bills itself as a "supermarket" for retail investors, in 2007 and both men are now billionaires.

Hargreaves is an executive director at the company but Lansdown left in 2012 and has devoted much of his time and financial clout to Bristol City FC, where he is the majority shareholder.

Michael Evans, Hargreaves Lansdown's chairman, said: "The group has once again increased both profits and assets under administration as we achieved record new business flows and record new client numbers.

"We continue to be a financially strong organisation with a simple, strong, debt-free balance sheet retaining a healthy margin over the regulatory capital adequacy requirements. Therefore after careful review of the company's future cash requirements, the board has decided to increase the dividend."

Hargreaves Lansdown shares were down 0.9% at £11.24 in early trading.

[houseoflords]

David Cameron will be proud

[worktotime]

a massive well done to all involed , all off the backs of the hard working posties , walk collapsing , unpaid o/t , staff cutting ,closing offices and more to come Cxxts.

[Darren Bent]

between two people they earned about 620 pounds (roughly) from every 110,000 employee work. That is wrong :(

[GT750rider]

David Cameron will be proud

And don't forget Vince Cable. God how I despise that man.