* H1 pretax profit up 85 pct to 16.7 mln stg
* H1 revenue up 59 pct to 51.5 mln stg
* Interim dividend rises 25 pct to 5 pence (Adds details, quotes from CEO)
LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - British investment bank andstockbroker Numis Corp said first-half pretax profitsrose 85 percent, helped by resilient equity markets and a surgein stock market listings in London.
Profit before tax for the six months to March 31 rose to16.7 million pounds ($28.4 million) from 9 million pounds a yearearlier. Revenue was up almost 60 percent at 51.5 millionpounds.
Numis, which advises on initial public offerings (IPO) aswell as providing corporate broking services and equityresearch, worked on 23 equity issuance deals in its first half,including the IPO of domestic appliance retailer AO World. That compares with a total of 38 for the entire 2013financial year.
London has proved a popular destination for listings thisyear, with first-quarter volumes reaching their highest sincethe same period in 2007, according to Thomson Reuters data.
"There is a marked increase in the number of high-qualitycompanies seeking to access capital through an IPO in London,"Chief Executive Oliver Hemsley said.
"This increased activity, together with our existingcorporate clients gaining in confidence, is feeding through toour results and the wider economy."
Numis also posted record first-half institutional commissionand trading revenue at 23.5 million pounds, up by almost aquarter compared with the same period in 2013.
It said it added 16 corporate clients, bringing its total to165 and pushing retainer fees 13 percent higher.
It will pay an interim dividend of 5 pence per share, a 25percent increase on a year earlier, it said.
The company was positive for the second half, having alreadycompleted work on three IPOs. It said its deal pipeline remainsstrong and it expects further benefits from an expected rise ininterest rates that will favour equities over bonds.
In a separate statement, Numis said it had appointed formersolicitor Robert Sutton as a non-executive director andconfirmed that Gerald Corbett would take over as non-executivechairman of the board when David Arculus retires.
Shares in Numis, which are quoted on the LondonStock Exchange's AIM junior market and have risen more than 12percent this year, closed at 298 pence on Tuesday.($1 = 0.5885 British Pounds)
(Reporting by Clare Hutchison; Editing by David Goodman)