SIPP and SSAS specialist EBS Pensions, part of the diverse Embark Group, has reported an 89% increase in client numbers and a pre-tax profit of £1.55m after making a loss the previous year.

Client numbers increased to 31,452 following the takeover of EBS Pensions by retirement provider Embark which owns a range of businesses including Rowanmoor and the Embark Platform.

EBS Pensions was bought two years ago by Embark and trades under a number of white label brands for distribution partners.

Embark says EBS has now been integrated into the group and business has been helped by the 2018 asset purchase of the Option SIPP from rival Liberty SIPP after Liberty faced a number of legal cases and closed to new business.

The “significantly increased” the size and reach of the business, said Embark.
 
EBS achieved a pre-tax trading profit of £1.55m in 2018, up from a small loss of -£0.01m for the same period in 2017.

Embark claims EBS is now one of the largest SIPP operators in the UK by client numbers.
 
The parent firm says that trading for 2019 continues to show progress with underlying client growth and the benefits of recent technology investments.
 
Paul Downing, EBS director, said: “2018 was another transitional year for EBS. The acquisition of the Option SIPP product produced a major positive catalyst in the latter part of the year, and we will now see scale benefits coming to the fore as we move forward at pace.”
 
Phil Smith, group CEO of the Embark Group, said: “We are very pleased with the step up in performance of EBS and its rapid transition to become a ‘go to’ provider in both the advised and D2C channels. It has outperformed our growth and profit expectations significantly over the last 12 months.

“EBS is very well positioned for further growth in this highly positive market.”

Embark brands include Vested, Rowanmoor, EBS, The Adviser Centre, Discus, Hornbuckle and Embark Pensions. It also operates white label services for businesses such as RBS Coutts, Standard Life, Nutmeg, BestInvest, Charles Stanley, Moneyfarm and Wealthsimple.
 
The Group employs nearly 490 people across eight businesses in seven office locations. It has £15bn in assets under administration for 142,000 consumer clients.