Peel Hunt gets investment bank boost in first results since listing

LONDON (Reuters) – British broker Peel Hunt on Wednesday posted half-year pretax profit of 29.5 million pounds ($39.29 million), boosted by a record performance in its investment bank, and was on course to meet full-year expectations.

Revenue in the bank rose 43% over the six months to end-September to 32.7 million pounds, buoyed by new client wins and a 15% increase in their average market capitalisation.

The results were the company’s first since listing in September, and were also boosted by a strong performance in its research and distribution business, despite the broader market softening, it said in a statement.

Performance in its trading unit weakened slightly, in line with expectations, although it said trading volumes, market share and revenue remaining higher than before pandemic.

($1 = 0.7509 pounds)

(Reporting by Simon Jessop, Editing by Louise Heavens)