Ascentric reveals 2013 loss of £0.6m after tech spend

clock • 1 min read

Ascentric has posted a £0.6m loss for the 2013 financial year after "significant" investment in technology which cost it £1.6m last year.

The £567,000 loss before tax compares to the the operating profit of £1.2m in 2013, with the £1.63m of exceptional costs related to spending on its "Accelerator" project which is seeing it switch to use Bravura's Sonata system.

Operating profit before tax is also down, at £1.2m for 2013, compared to £2.5m in 2012, after a surge in admin costs.

The firm is investing in its ‘accelerator’ project, which it expects will affect profitability in 2014 and 2015 as well. Owner Royal London has outlined plans to scale the platform up to be four or five times larger.

However, the platform is winning a lot of new business, running at levels it said were unprecedented. Total assets under administration climbed from £5.2bn in 2012 to £7.3bn at the end of the year. Net client asset flows were £1.7bn.

Nevertheless, the platform saw a 20% drop in new business in the first half of 2014, according to Royal London's recent interim results.

Royal London chief executive Phil Loney said earlier this year the drop reflected a quieter year for platforms in general, rather than a trend affecting only Ascentric. 

Ascentric is also undergoing a change at the helm, with Hugo Thorman (pictured) stepping down as managing director in 2015, handing over to Royal London's Jon Taylor.

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