Numis chief’s warning over low growth
THE CHIEF executive of stockbroker Numis yesterday warned that Britain faces two further years of little or no economic growth.
Oliver Hemsley told City A.M. he was “not hugely optimistic” the performance of the square mile would be bolstered by better market conditions.
He was speaking as chancellor George Osborne told Conservatives the coalition would not deviate from its deficit reduction plans. Hemsley said, however, that Numis could win business from rivals even in a difficult marketplace.
“I am expecting some retrenchment of the competition and that will play into our hands. Hopefully we can take advantage.”
He was speaking as Numis said revenue for the six months to 30 September, was up six per cent on the first-half figure of £26.5m. It also saw a 45 per cent rise on second-half sales of £20.6m last year.
Income from deals “recovered strongly” in the second half as the market for mergers and acquisitions began to improve. Numis’ number of corporate clients at the year-end rose from 133 to 140.
Hemsley added: “Numis has performed well against a background of huge economic uncertainty, highly volatile markets and unrelenting competition. We see little change to these conditions in the near term but are confident that over the medium term we have the capital, the people, and the desire to succeed.”