Capital-rich Arbuthnot’s (ARBB) appetite for acquisitions is far from sated. Following its takeover of Renaissance Asset Finance in April, chief operating officer Andrew Salmon says the specialist bank is close to agreeing terms for “the next one or two” of its target purchases within the next few months. The focus continues to be on smaller businesses with growth potential, rather than larger deals, Mr Salmon says.
Commercial banking now has operations in the group’s Exeter and London offices, as well as newly opened premises in Manchester and Bristol, and now employs 44 staff. The loan book for this business stood at £147m at the end of June, up from just £16m the previous year. Management has also focused on growing the loan book of Renaissance – a provider of finance for vintage cars and other specialist and business assets – which had been shrinking under previous ownership. Some progress was made, with loans growing to £60m during its first two months of trading under Arbuthnot.
The private banking business also continued to expand. It wrote £76m in new loans during the six months to June, an increase of more than a quarter on the same time in 2016. Meanwhile, assets under management surpassed the £1bn mark, up from £0.8bn.
Analysts at Numis expect net tangible assets of 1,507p per share at the end of December 2017, down from 1,517p a year earlier.
| ARBUTHNOT BANKING GROUP (ARBB) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,336p | MARKET VALUE: | £199m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,301-1,349p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,600p | LOW: 1,190p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.4% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 1,572p | LEVERAGE: | 6.9 | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Total operating income (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 | 19.2 | -2.4 | 1111 | 13 |
| 2017 | 25.1 | 2.5 | 16.5 | 14 |
| % change | +31 | - | -99 | +8 |
| Ex-div: | 31 Aug | |||
| Payment: | 29 Sep |
