The wealth management firm Brooks Macdonald has sold its property arm, Braemar Estates, to Rendall and Rittner.
Brooks Macdonald’s pre-tax profits nearly halved in the year to the end of June, falling from £15.9m to £8m.
Chief executive Caroline Connellan has expressed hope that profit margins will improve with the selling of Braemar Estates by allowing the company to concentrate on its core business and to reduce costs. Just 1.4% of Brooks Macdonald’s profits were contributed by Braemar Estates, yet the property manager accounted for over £500,000 worth of net liabilities over assets.
Connellan spoke about Brooks Macdonald’s current position, “As we look to the future and build on our success to date, my focus is on positioning the business to capture the significant growth opportunities open to us.
“We will continue to enhance the services we offer and improve business efficiency while responding to the rapidly changing competitive and regulatory environment, and the increasing influence of technology.
“We have started our new financial year with positive momentum and look forward with confidence, notwithstanding our relative caution around markets and client sentiment.”
