Last checked at 4 Jul 2014 07:00
4 July 2014
European Wealth Group Limited
("European Wealth", or "the Group")
Trading Update
European Wealth (AIM: EWG, EWGL), the fast growing wealth management group, is pleased to provide a pre-close trading update at the end of the first half of 2014.
During the first six months of the year, which was dominated by the Company's admission to AIM in May 2014 via a reverse into EW Group, the core business continued to grow strongly. Funds under management and influence grew from approximately £0.66 billion at 31 December 2013 to approximately £0.82 billion at 30 June 2014, an increase of 24.2 per cent. This growth reflected the strengthening of the Group's European Investment Management team in the second half of 2013, and first half of 2014, through the recruitment of experienced asset managers, as well as the continued growth in the financial planning business, European Financial Planning, through the development of its personal pension capability. In addition, the Group recently completed the acquisition of Compass, an IFA business based in Kingston, Surrey, with approximately £31 million of funds under influence. This is the first acquisition the Group has completed since its admission onto AIM - and the fifth in four years - as part of its strategy which seeks to combine strong organic growth with targeted acquisitions that both grow the client base and enhance the client offering.
European Wealth continues to generate above average returns for its clients with European Wealth's three key portfolios (low, medium and high risk) outperforming their peer group in the first quarter (source: Trustee MPI). This follows out-performance in 2013 and in the preceding three years. Trading activities have benefited from the strong market conditions in the first half which, coupled with the growth in funds under management and influence, should result in solid growth in first half revenues. The Group is also expected to show a positive EBITDA for the first half, excluding the one-off costs of the admission.
With the global economic recovery continuing, European Wealth remains optimistic for the remainder of 2014. However, with global markets approaching historic highs, the second half is unlikely to show the same level of organic revenue growth as in the first half. Further, the Group is looking at re-balancing its portfolio strategy to insulate clients against potential market shocks, whether as a result of geopolitical risks or changes in central bank policies.
Commenting on the first six months, John Morton, Executive Chairman of European Wealth, said;
"The last six months have been a period of continued expansion for the Group. The completion of the AIM admission in May was a major milestone for the Group. This brought immediate benefits with the Compass acquisition and associated fund raising following less than two months later. Such a transaction would have been far harder to execute under our previous ownership structure and underlines our strategy of combining organic growth with targeted acquisitions.
"We continue to review further organic growth and targeted acquisition opportunities that have the ability to widen our geographic reach, broaden our scope of services and access important new client niches in the second half of the year."
For further details, please contact:
European Wealth Group Limited
John Morton, Rod Gentry: +44 (0)20 7293 0733
www.ewgrouplimited.com
Daniel Stewart & Company Plc - Nominated Adviser and Broker
Antony Legge, Ciaran Walsh, Mark Treharne: +44 (0)20 7776 6550
GTH Communications
Toby Hall: +44 (0)20 7822 7493 / +44 (0)7713 341072
About European Wealth Group Limited
European Wealth Group Limited (AIM: EWG, EWGL).is the holding company for the fast growing wealth management business, European Wealth Management Group Limited. Having commenced trading in 2010, European Wealth has two operating divisions, European Investment Management Limited ("EIM") and European Financial Planning Limited ("EFP"). Both are regulated by the FCA and were established to be RDR compliant from the outset, EIM opting for Restricted Adviser status and EFP for Independent Adviser status. Today the Group's head office is in London with a network of five local offices across the South East. Core services offered by the Group are financial planning, corporate pension advisory and investment management in both equity and fixed interest instruments. For further information on European Wealth's wealth management and financial planning services, please go to www.europeanwealth.com.
ENDS