Assets under management for the wealth management arm of WH Ireland rose 18% to £2.18bn for the year ending 31 March as the group returned a full year profit for the first time in five years and revealed it was seeking more acquisitions.

The wealth manager completed the £7.8m takeover of Chartered Financial Planner firm Harpsden Wealth Management in December.

Following the acquisition discretionary managed assets increased 69% to £1.06bn.

WH Ireland said that the integration of Harpsden was progressing well with re-platforming synergies scheduled for the third quarter of this calendar year.

Fee income now represents 74% of the total wealth management income for the firm.

Group revenue for the year was £27.9m, a rise of 29% (31 March: £21.6m).

Group profit before tax is expected to be £1m due to a strong performance from the capital markets division.

Revenue for the year for the capital markets division increased by over 80% to £14.5m ( 2020: £7.9m).

This is the first time the firm has returned a full year profit for over five years.

Phillip Wale, CEO of WH Ireland, said it had been a significant year and marked the firm moving into the second phase of its strategy set two years ago. He added that it was looking for more wealth management and Financial Planning acquisitions.

He said: “The group's financial position has become more robust, enabling investment in further organic and inorganic growth, particularly in building upon the existing platform now in place in wealth management. We continue to look for potential acquisition opportunities and new hires in both divisions as we benefit from the successful integration of Harpsden and the recruitment programme already completed.”