Pension consultancy and SIPP business XPS Pensions Group has reported pre-tax profits up 13% for the past year.

Pre-tax profit for the year rose from £16.9m to £19.1m.

In results out this week the firm said it was another year of “record growth” with total group revenue up 20% from £138.6m to £166.6m.

The firm said it had seen strong client demand, inflationary fee increases and progress with M&A activity despite a challenging economic backdrop.

The company said it had seen the strongest growth in pensions actuarial consulting and investment consulting.

XPS Pension Group also includes XPS Self Invested Pensions which has specialised in SIPPs for more than 40 years. XPS Self Invested Pensions was previously called Xafinity.

Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) revenues were up 54% with strong underlying sales plus the benefit of the full year impact of the acquisition of Michael J Field SIPP and SSAS book as well as strong organic growth and the higher bank base rate. Overall, SIP revenues rose 54% to £9.4 million (FY 2022: £6.1 million).

XPS is continuing to expand distribution channels for its SIPP offering and was recently added to the panel of recommended SIPP providers for wealth manager St James' Place. 

Pensions Administration revenue grew 10% year on year driven by new client wins and ongoing project work.  

Paul Cuff, co-CEO of XPS Pensions Group, said: “We are pleased with the group’s performance, and proud of our people.  It was a very busy year indeed, as we helped our clients to navigate volatile financial markets, including of course the gilts crisis in September and October last year. 

“It was also a year in which many of the investments we have made in the group’s services really paid off, as we grew strongly and gained real market traction in areas such as risk transfer work and DC consulting.  This, combined with new client wins coming onboard, and against the backdrop of higher contractual inflationary fee increases coming through, drove a record year of growth for the firm. We were delighted to welcome new colleagues to the Group through the acquisition of Penfida, which enhanced our existing capability in the area of employer covenant advice.”

Ben Bramhall, also a co-CEO of XPS Pensions Group, said: “The delivery of our new administration platform, Aurora, is a big milestone for our Pensions Administration business.  It was delivered on time and on budget and is now live.  We are excited as Aurora is truly cutting edge and will deliver a better experience for our clients and their members.  It is already driving new business opportunities for us in this area.”

The firm said it expected demand for its services to remain high despite economic challenges in the wider economy.

XPS Pensions Group claims to be the largest pure pensions specialist in the UK and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.