Troubled wealth manager and financial services firm WH Ireland said losses increased last year and it has given up trying to sell its wealth management after negotiations to unload the division collapsed.

The company said there was interest from a number of buyers, but none came to fruition.

In a stock market statement the firm said: “During the year a number of potential buyers approached us in respect of a purchase of the WM division and where it was appropriate these were actively pursued. However, none of these discussions resulted in a transaction.”

It revealed the news while publishing its annual results for the 12 months to the end of March, in which it reported overall revenue dropped nearly a fifth - 19.6% - from £26.7m to £21.5m.

It recorded a statutory loss before tax of £5.9m, up from a £1.8m loss in the previous year, partly a result of an increase in restructuring costs of £2.9m.

The firm's AUM slipped from £1.4bn in 2023 to £1.2bn at the end of March.

WH Ireland did sell its capital markets division, completing on the deal to Zeus Capital in July.

Phillip Wale, chief executive of WH Ireland, said: “While the FTSE 100 has been relatively resilient, the AIM All Share Index fell 9% over the period.

“These market conditions severely impacted transactional business (and particularly fundraisings) in the capital markets division, which, together with significant restructuring costs, were the principal reason for the group reporting losses for the year.”

Alongside the revenue from the sale of its capital markets division, WH Ireland said it hoped that the impact of its cost cutting programme introduced earlier in 2024 would provide it with “an improved chance of returning the continuing wealth management division to a break-even position.”

Mr Wale added: “Having completed the sale of the capital markets division in July 2024, we have achieved a more stable financial position for the group against the current market backdrop.

“We are now implementing plans for the growth of the remaining wealth management business to return it to break even whilst finding further efficiencies in the group as a whole.”

The firm saw a major board shake-up last November. That followed a £5m rescue deal thrashed out in the summer which saved the company. In August WH Ireland shareholders had backed the fund-raising move to help stabilise finances at the troubled firm. WH Ireland warned that it was in danger of being wound up if the deal had not gone ahead.

As part of the cost-cutting deal, chief executive Phillip Wale took a 30% pay cut in return for share options. Other senior executives, including head of wealth management Michael Bishop, also agreed to take pay cuts.

In the previous months the company cut its workforce by 45 to 111 as it strived to cut costs. The firm's discussions with the FCA about its financial position could have resulted in the company being wound up if the summer share placing was unsuccessful. In the event it was successful.