Bristol-based wealth manager and investment provider Hargreaves Lansdown has reported a 24% rise in pre-tax profit for the full year to 30 June to £378.3m.

Over the period client numbers rose by 188,000 to a record 1.4m and the firm’s growth appeared to be little affected by controversy over its role in promoting the now-failed Woodford funds.

The company said waiving fees on Woodford funds had cost it £2.6m in revenue and it had "learnt" from the experience.

Overall the firm saw net new business of £7.7 billion during the year with Assets Under Administration up 5% to £104 billion.

Total dividend was up 31% at 54.9 pence per share.

Chief executive Chris Hill called the results a “strong performance” against a challenging backdrop.

He said he was proud of the fact that during lockdown no staff had been furloughed, none had been made redundant and no government assistance had been sought.

He said: “The benefits of putting our clients at the heart of everything we do, combined with our investment in the scalability, diversity and resilience of HL's business model, have been demonstrated through a record 188,000 net new clients, bringing total active clients to over 1.4 million and £7.7 billion of net new business, also a record.

“At the same time we have completed significant strategic initiatives, including launching our new Wealth Shortlist and Fund Finder, as well as completing further work to enhance governance, scalability and resilience in our service to clients.

“Our priority has remained our colleagues and clients throughout this challenging period and I am proud of how we have responded.”

The firm reported more interest from younger investors in using its services and a growth in app use.

Of the 1.2m clients who logged in to HL online during the year, 43% used the HL app while 33% of online client-initiated share trades came via the apps, more than double last year. The company plans to further develop its digital capabilities.

Compared to a few years ago, Mr Hill said the firm was seeing more clients who, on average, are joining HL at younger ages and the way they interact has shifted with more interest in mobile and access to new asset classes through the Active Savings products.