Sage, Burns help Honister Capital to £1.5m profits

Financial services group Honister Capital has moved into profit after just three months of trading following strong showings from advisory businesses it acquired last year.

In the period 23 June to 30 September 2009, Honister generated revenues of £30.4m, £29.6m of which came from Burns-Anderson, Sage Financial and Honister Partners. The remainder was generated by direct-to-consumer proposition Willis Owen.

Overall, the group made an operating profit of £1.5m during the period, of which £1m came from the group's advice businesses.

Group CEO Mark Lund says the company's focus will now be on readying firms for the RDR. He will structure the group, he says, so that it can "accommodate independent and, if relevant, restricted advisers".

Honister Capital was launched in June last year after acquiring the shares of The Money Portal's advisory businesses: Burns-Anderson, Sage and Willis Owen, as well as the principal assets of Bates Investment Services (now Honister Partners).

In the 12 month period to 30 September 2009, Burns Anderson generated £0.3m of operating profit from a turnover of £30.9m, Sage made £1.3m of operating profit through £28.3m of revenue and, from £2.7m of revenue, Willis Owen made an operating profit of £2.1m.

Honister Capital says it remains free of any bank debt and, as of 31 December, had an overall cash balance of £11.3m, £4.8m of which was regulatory capital.

"This is a strong start for our new company, especially when we consider the wider economic environment," CEO Lund says.

"The performance is testament to [our employees], all of whom have worked tirelessly to minimise any disruption to trading and ensure business continuity as Honister came into life."