WH Ireland: Small-cap broker’s revenue plunges amid AIM swoon

WH Ireland, the broker for small and medium-sized public companies, has reported a near 20 per cent slump in revenue due to “extremely challenging” market conditions.

The group also reported a statutory loss before tax of £5.9m, up from £1.8m in 2023, thanks in part to a £2.9m restructuring charge.

“These were principally redundancies and project costs in relation to the board exploring strategic opportunities for parts of the business,” its annual results explained.

WH Ireland had pursued a sale of both its wealth management and capital markets arms during the year but ultimately did not sell off the former.

Last month, the group struck a deal to sell its capital markets division to London-based investment bank Zeus Capital for £5m.

While the company has decided to prioritise growth at its wealth management arm, assets under management declined from £1.4bn to £1.2bn during the period. WH Ireland said the decline was “the principal reason for a fall in revenue.”

In addition, revenue at WH Ireland’s capital markets arm dropped 22 per cent. The group’s number of clients dropped from 90 to 72 during the year.

Phillip Wale, chief executive officer of WH Ireland, blamed the market backdrop for the group’s declining income, describing it as “extremely challenging”.

“While the FTSE 100 has been relatively resilient, the AIM All Share Index fell nine per cent over the period,” he noted.

“These market conditions severely impacted transactional business (and particularly fundraisings) in the Capital Markets Division, which, together with significant restructuring costs, were the principal reason for the group reporting losses for the year.”

However, Wale was optimistic for the group’s prospects, noting that with the sale of its capital markets arm last month, “we have achieved a more stable financial position for the group against the current market backdrop”.

“We are now implementing plans for the growth of the remaining WM business to return it to break even whilst finding further efficiencies in the group as a whole,” he added.