Profits and funds under management up at Govett

GOVETT & Company, the Jersey-registered investment management group that recently changed its name from Berkeley Govett, increased its first-half pre- tax profits by 14 per cent to dollars 29.7m ( pounds 15.4m) as funds under management rose from dollars 5.2bn to dollars 5.8bn.

Fees from investment management increased from dollars 13.9m to dollars 18.1m, helped by this year's purchase of ACI, a US institutional fund manager. Corporate finance fees, up from dollars 4.7m to dollars 6.2m, were boosted by the arrangement of CIN Venture's dollars 100m commitment to a German buyout fund.

London Pacific, the US life insurance annuity subsidiary, increased profits by 37 per cent to dollars 14.5m, though dollars 13m of this is an 'embedded value' estimate of future profits from business already written. Govett cautioned that regulatory changes might restrict London Pacific's freedom to invest. The threat to the tax advantages of deferred annuities, its main line, seems to have receded.

Govett spent nearly dollars 10m on its lowly rated shares during the half. In the next two months it intends to establish an American Depositary Receipt programme.

Govett is paying an increased interim dividend of 9.5 cents per share (8.5 cents).