Wealth manager Brewin Dolphin has reported a 20% rise in Financial Planning income in its half year results published today.

Financial Planning revenue rose by 20.4% to £33.1m mainly due to growth at the ‘1762 from Brewin Dolphin’ wealth management arm alongside recent Financial Planning-led acquisitions which contributed £4m.

The company revealed in its results that it has paid a total of £4.3m, including deferred consideration of nearly £2m, for Surrey-based Financial Planning firm Aylwin which it acquired in March 2019.

The better performance from Financial Planning helped the firm increase total income for the period by 6.6% to £361.4m.

During the half year ended 30 September, total funds under management or advice rose to £47.6bn (H1 2020: £41.4bn), up 15% since 31 March.

However excluding £2.7bn in funds from acquisitions the firm said total funds were broadly flat year on year.

Pre-tax profit increased 4.3% to £78.2m (FY 2019: £75m).

The final dividend was 9.9p per share, taking the total for the year to 14.3p per share - down on the total 16.4p dividend paid in 2019.

During the period a new client management system was implemented and the acquisition of Investec Capital & Investments (Ireland) Limited was rebranded to Brewin Dolphin Capital & Investments (Ireland). The firm also launched an improved user-experience for WealthPilot clients.

The firm said market conditions remain “challenging against economic and social headwinds” but it believes it is well placed to capture any market recovery.

Robin Beer, chief executive, said: "Our objective is to help people build financially sustainable futures whilst achieving peace of mind. This could not have been more welcomed by our clients in a year which saw markets fall during the initial peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst markets have recovered from those levels, continued volatility remains a likelihood until the pandemic is under control.”

For 2021 the firm is prioritising digital services to improve client and adviser service.