Wealth manager and SIPP provider Mattioli Woods has reported a 95.9% rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to £14.1m for the six months ended 30 November

The firm saw a 76.9% increase in adjusted EBITDA to £15.8m.

The adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 31.6% (H121: 30.2%).

Total client assets rose 24.4% to a record £15.1bn (31 May 2021: £12.1bn).

The wealth manager’s gross discretionary assets under management increased by 25.3% to £5.1bn.

Revenue increased 69.1% to £49.9m driven by contributions from acquisitions and strong organic growth.

Investment and asset management revenues generated from advising clients on both pension and personal investments increased 53.6% to £23.4m (1H21: £15.3m).

Pension consultancy and administration revenues increased 8.5% to £9.9m, of which 7.2% was organic growth.

However, the total number of SIPP and SSAS schemes administered by Mattioli Woods fell 0.8% to 11,023 (1H21: 11,135), with a 2.3% reduction in the number of schemes operated on an administration-only basis.

Acquisitions made a positive contribution of £19.4m.

Organic growth of 11.1% added £3.1m in revenue. The growth was driven by positive performance in pension consultancy and administration and investment and asset management operating segments, along with 515 new client wins (H121: 316 new client wins).

Recurring revenues represented 87.7% of total revenue (H121: 94.3%).

However, operating profit before financing fell 26.7% to £2.8m due to acquisition-related costs.

The provider said recent acquisitions were performing and integrating well.

Ludlow Wealth Management was trading ahead of budget since its acquisition, driven by new business wins. Over £11m had been invested into Ludlow’s discretionary portfolio management over the six months ending 30 November.

It said Maven Capital Partners’ underlying trading was ahead of budget, enhanced by significant Venture Capital Trust and Maven Investor Partner performance fees.

Mattioli Woods said it will continue to invest in technology and digital platforms to support the integration of Maven and Ludlow.

It said the acquisitions were also delivering cost benefits, including the fully subscribed launch of first co-investment between Mattioli Woods and Maven, and clients of Maven and Ludlow engaging with the group’s wider investment proposition.

The firm said it was focusing on organic growth but also has a strong pipeline of potential strategic acquisitions.

As a result of the acquisition-related costs, basic earnings per share fell 69.3% to 3.5p. Adjusted earnings per share rose 13.3% to 23.8p.

Mattioli said it will pay an interim dividend of 8.3p, a 10.7% rise from the previous year.

Mattioli Woods said that while it anticipates continued “regulatory scrutiny” of the pension market due to other SIPP providers having been in the spotlight due to DB transfers and non-standard investments, it sees the market as continuing to have strong opportunities for the group.

It expects to be appointed to administer SIPPs previously operated by a number of failed operators over the next few years.

The firm said it also expects the natural outflows from clients’ SIPP and SSAS schemes as the ‘baby boomer’ generation reaches retirement, and that this decumulation would have a positive impact on the group’s results, linking-in with the provision of advice around the cascading of wealth through the generations, inheritance tax and other planning.