Close Bros Regulatory News (CBG)

Scheduled Trading Update

Close Brothers Group plc ("the group" or "Close Brothers") today issues its scheduled pre-close trading update ahead of its 2018 half year end. Close Brothers will be releasing its half year results for the six months ending 31 January 2018 on 13 March 2018.

All statements in this release relate to the group's performance over the five months to 31 December 2017 unless otherwise indicated.

Group and divisional performance

Close Brothers' performance since the start of the financial year has remained good, with all three divisions ahead of expectations.

The Banking division has continued to generate strong returns and profit growth during the period, with a stable net interest margin. Bad debts remained low and the underlying credit performance was consistent with the last financial year.

The loan book was up 2.6% over the period and 7.3% year on year at £7.1 billion (31 July 2017: £6.9 billion). Growth was driven by the Premium and Property Finance businesses. In Motor and Asset Finance, where the environment remains competitive, we continue to focus on maintaining our underwriting and pricing discipline.

Winterflood continued its good performance with trading activity remaining high.

Asset Management also performed well, delivering strong net inflows and benefiting from rising markets. Managed assets increased 8.2% in the period to £9.6 billion (31 July 2017: £8.9 billion) and total client assets grew to £11.7 billion (31 July 2017: £11.2 billion).

Outlook

Given our performance year to date, we are confident of delivering an increase in profit in the first half, and remain well positioned for the full 2018 financial year.

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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 3,200 people, principally in the UK. Close Brothers Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250.