Curtis Banks PLC (LON:CBP) said it weathered the Coronavirus (COVID-19) storm and made good progress on a number of strategic initiatives in 2020.
The self-invested pension plan or SIPP specialist said operating revenue grew by 10% to £53.9mln in the year to end December, reflecting acquisitive growth and steady performance in the core business of Mid and Full SIPPs.
Assets under Administration increased by 11% to £32.4bn while underlying profits were flat at £13.4mln, though amortisation charges meant pre-tax profits dropped to £7.4mln from £10.9mln. The dividend for the year was held at 9p.
Curtis Banks said the number of policies it administers rose to 82,244 from 76,541, with organic growth of its own Mid and Full SIPPS rising to 7.8% with a dip in the attrition rate to 4.6%.
Will Self, chief executive, added: “The business demonstrated a high degree of resilience in 2020. We completed the acquisitions of Talbot and Muir and Dunstan Thomas, two high-quality businesses which provide us with additional scale in our core line of business and the opportunity for technological innovation further down the line, respectively.
“We changed our fee model to ensure greater transparency to our clients and a more robust, consistent income stream which reduces our reliance on interest income.”
Going forward, Self said the business was changing from a primarily focused SIPP administrator to a more holistic retirement group that provides technology and complementary services to the advised retirement market.