Rathbones Group PLC (LSE:RAT, OTC:RTBBF), one of the UK's largest discretionary wealth managers, saw its shares climb 5% to 2328p on Friday after reporting a 53.5% jump in statutory profit before tax and setting out ambitions to become the best wealth manager in the UK.
The FTSE 250 company said profit before tax rose to £152.9 million in the year to 31 December 2025, up from £99.6 million a year earlier, driven by the delivery of cost and revenue synergies from its integration of Investec Wealth & Investment (IW&I) and a sharp reduction in one-off integration costs, which fell to £39.9 million from £75.5 million in 2024.
Underlying profit before tax, which strips out integration charges and other one-off items, rose 4.6% to £238.1 million, with the underlying operating margin edging up to 25.8% from 25.4%.
Funds under management and administration reached £115.6 billion at the year end, up from £109.2 billion twelve months earlier.
Rathbones said synergy delivery from the IW&I combination had exceeded its original target, with annualised run-rate synergies of £76 million at the end of 2025, well above the £60 million the company had initially targeted.
The group said it considered 2025 to mark the end of the integration synergy delivery period.
The company announced an extension of up to £20 million to its existing share buyback programme, following the completion of an initial £50 million buyback on 16 February.
The extension is subject to regulatory approval. The board also proposed a final dividend of 68p per share, taking the total dividend for the year to 99p, up 6.5% on 2024.
Rathbones said it remained confident of achieving a 30% underlying operating margin target by the fourth quarter of 2026, assuming funds under management growth of 3%, stable inflation and interest rates in line with current market expectations.
New chief executive Jonathan Sorrell, who succeeded Paul Stockton after a global search, said he saw significant opportunities ahead and that the business had the scale and ambition to capture them.
"We are competing from a position of real strength in an attractive and growing market," he said.
The group said its strategic priorities centred on becoming the first choice for clients and talent, the most effective operator and the most reputable brand in UK wealth management.