Brewin Dolphin plans £40m share placing as profits fall 44%

Wealth manager Brewin Dolphin is planning a £40m capital raising through a share placing, as it sees pre-tax profits almost halve in the six months to March.

In its first results since a senior management reshuffle, Brewin reported pre-tax profits fell 44%, from £12.3m in the first half of 2012, to £6.9m. The group said this decline resulted from “both significant restructuring costs and material provisions for onerous leases” on surplus office space. It will aim to raise £40m through a placing of up to 19,001,738 new ordinary shares, equivalent to 7.5% of the company's £557m market cap. Two-thirds of the capital raised will be used to fund future capital investment in the business, with a view to hiring new teams or making other acquis...