Close Bros Regulatory News (CBG)

Scheduled Trading Update

Close Brothers Group plc ("the group") today releases its scheduled pre-close trading update ahead of its 2017 financial year end. All statements in this release relate to the 11 months to 30 June 2017 ("the period") unless otherwise indicated.

The group will report results for the year to 31 July 2017 on 26 September 2017.

Group and divisional performance

The group has continued to perform well across all divisions, consistent with our Q3 trading update.

The Banking division has delivered continued growth and good returns, with the loan book up 6.4% year to date at £6.8 billion (31 July 2016: £6.4 billion).

Property Finance continued to perform well, with solid demand and strong loan book growth. Retail Finance benefited from strong growth in the premium finance business, while we continue to prioritise margins and credit quality in motor finance. Commercial Finance growth remained modest, consistent with the current point in the cycle.

Overall, the bad debt ratio remains in line with the prior year and the net interest margin also remained broadly stable, as we continue to apply our prudent and consistent lending criteria across all of our businesses.

Winterflood delivered a good performance year to date supported by continued strong retail trading activity throughout the period.

Asset Management continued to achieve strong net inflows and benefit from positive market movements. As a result, managed assets are up 9% year to date at £8.8 billion (31 July 2016: £8.0 billion) and total client assets grew 11% to £11.0 billion (31 July 2016: £9.9 billion).

Outlook

The group has performed well year to date and we remain confident in a good result for the current financial year.

Enquiries

About Close Brothers

Close Brothers is a leading UK merchant banking group providing lending, deposit taking, wealth management services and securities trading. We employ over 3,000 people, principally in the UK. Close Brothers Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250.