CAY.L Regulatory News (CAY)

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CAY.L

Charles Stanley Group PLC

("Charles Stanley" or the "Group")

Trading Update for the three months ended 30 September 2021

Charles Stanley, the wealth management services group, is pleased to provide a trading update for the second quarter of its financial year, covering the three months ended 30 September 2021.

Trading Update

Total Funds under Management and Administration ("FuMA") in the quarter rose marginally by 1.1% to £27.4 billion against the prior quarter at £27.1 billion. This compared to a 0.2% increase over the same period in the MSCI WMA Private Investor Balanced Index. FuMA were up by 7.0% against the financial year-end position of £25.6 billion at 31 March 2021. Average FuMA increased by 22.2% over the first half of the financial year to £27.0 billion (H1 2020: £22.1 billion), reflecting buoyant stock markets.

Revenue over the second quarter increased by 15.3% to £46.0 million (Q2 2020: £39.9 million), with increases in fee income of 19.5% and commission income of 3.4% offsetting a significant contraction in interest income of 40%. Revenue over the first half increased by 12.1% to £91.9 million (H1 2020: £82.0 million). Revenue margins over the period decreased by 6.2bps to 68.1bps (H1 2020: 74.3 bps), which reflected lower trading activity and commission income, as well as lower interest rates compared to the same period than a year ago.

Update on recommended acquisition by Raymond James UK Wealth Management Holdings Limited ("Raymond James"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc.

As announced by Charles Stanley on 16 September, the requisite majority of shareholders voted in favour of the court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement (the "Scheme") to effect Raymond James' recommended cash acquisition of Charles Stanley (the "Acquisition"). The Scheme remains subject to the satisfaction or (where applicable) waiver of remaining conditions, including the FCA having notified Raymond James in writing of its approval of the change of control of Charles Stanley & Co Limited and Myddleton Croft Limited as a result of the Acquisition (or the requisite time period for such approval having elapsed without the FCA having objected to the Acquisition) and the Court sanctioning the Scheme at a sanction hearing, which is expected to be held in the fourth quarter of 2021. Any updates to the expected timetable, including the time and date of the Court hearing to sanction the Scheme once confirmed, will be announced through a Regulatory Information Service.

Notice of Results

The Group's unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2021 will be published on 18 November 2021.

Paul Abberley, Chief Executive Officer of Charles Stanley, said:

"The Group continues to display good momentum across all areas, with growth in revenues from all our divisions."

Charles Stanley Group PLC LEI: 213800LBSEGKE5MCYC90

For further information, please contact: 

Notes to editors:

Charles Stanley provides holistic wealth management services to private clients, charities, trusts and institutions. Its origins trace back to 1792 and the Group is one of the oldest firms on the London Stock Exchange. The Group has a national presence, with 26 locations and over 800 professionals. Its wealth management services are provided direct to clients and to intermediaries.

Further Information

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form any part of, an offer to sell or an invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Acquisition or otherwise.

Important notices relating to financial and corporate advisers

N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited ("Rothschild & Co"), which is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for Charles Stanley and for no one else in connection with the Acquisition and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the Acquisition and will not be responsible to anyone other than Charles Stanley for providing the protections afforded to clients of Rothschild & Co, nor for providing advice in relation to any matter referred to in this announcement.

Peel Hunt LLP ("Peel Hunt"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting exclusively for Charles Stanley and for no one else in connection with the matters described in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Charles Stanley for providing the protections afforded to clients of Peel Hunt nor for providing advice in relation to matters described in this announcement.

Canaccord Genuinty ("Canaccord"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting exclusively for Charles Stanley and for no one else in connection with the matters described in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Charles Stanley for providing the protections afforded to clients of Canaccord nor for providing advice in relation to matters described in this announcement.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to Charles Stanley. These forward-looking statements include information concerning future strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated savings, financial results (including expenses, earnings, liquidity, cash flow and capital expenditures), industry or market conditions, demand for and pricing of our products, acquisitions and divestitures, anticipated results of litigation, regulatory developments, effects of accounting pronouncements, and general economic conditions. In addition, words such as "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "estimates", and future or conditional verbs such as "will", "may", "could", "should", and "would", as well as any other statement that necessarily depends on future events, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, and they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.

These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of such persons and the environment in which each will operate in the future. By their nature, these forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. The factors described in the context of such forward-looking statements in this announcement may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of any such person, or industry results and developments, to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct and persons reading this announcement are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as at the date of this announcement. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to Charles Stanley or any persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above. Charles Stanley undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.

Publication on website

A copy of this announcement and the documents required to be published pursuant to Rule 26.1 and Rule 26.2 of the Code will be made available (subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions), free of charge, at charles-stanley.co.uk/recommended-offer-for-charles-stanley by no later than 12 noon on the Business Day following the date of this announcement.

Neither the contents of the website nor the content of any other website accessible from hyperlinks on such website is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

Funds under Management and Administration

The change in FuMA since 30 June 2021 is explained in more detail in the table below:

Revenue

The tables below set out the unaudited revenues of the Group for the quarter and six months ended 30 September 2021 along with the prior year comparatives on a like-for-like basis.