28th Nov 2007 07:01
Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC28 November 2007 28 November 2007 Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC Group Preliminary Results For year ended 30 September 2007 Highlights • Total income £209 million (2006: £174 million) • Discretionary funds £10.7 billion at 30 September 2007 (2006: £8.8 billion) • Profit before tax £41.7 million (2006: £32.0 million) • Earnings per share: o Diluted earnings per share 13.8p (2006: 10.6p) o Basic earnings per share 14.5p (2006: 11.1p) • Interim dividends declared in the year 6.25p (2006: 5.25p) per share Declaration of Final Dividend The Board is pleased to declare a final dividend of 3.5p per share, which is anincrease of 22% against 2.875p first interim dividend paid in April 2007. Thefinal dividend is to be approved at the 2008 AGM, payable on 7th April 2008 toshareholders on the register as at 7th March 2008, with an ex-dividend date of5th March 2008. Jamie Matheson, Executive Chairman said "I am very pleased to be able to report another year of significant progress foryour Company. Market conditions have again been favourable for the most part butthis should not disguise the underlying growth the Group has achieved. Against a background of a volatile market, the new year to September 2008 hasstarted satisfactorily." For further information:- Jamie Matheson, Executive Chairman Toby Mountford/ George CazenoveBrewin Dolphin Citigate Dewe Rogerson020 7248 4400 020 7638 9571 Executive Chairman's Statement I am very pleased to be able to report another year of significant progress foryour Company. Market conditions have again been favourable for the most partbut this should not disguise the underlying growth the Group has achieved. We have also seen the benefit of business brought in by teams that have joinedthe Group in the last year or two and new teams continue to join us. During theperiod, we opened new offices in Oxford, Hereford, Plymouth, Swansea and York.Since the year end we have opened an office in Chester and now have a total of39 branches. Investment Management There has been further growth in discretionary funds under management as well asan increase in our client base. Even more encouragingly we believe we areseeing an uplift in the proportion of clients' wealth that we are managing.Total funds under our management have reached £21.6 billion of which thediscretionary element has risen to £10.7 billion and we remain the largestindependent investment manager for private clients in the UK. Investment Banking Our Investment Banking division had a particularly strong year. However, wewere all very saddened by the sudden death of our Head of Corporate Broking,Frank Malcolm. Frank was a senior Director of your Company's main operatingBoard and made a very significant contribution during all his years with theGroup. He is sadly missed. Following Frank's death, Graeme Summers took overresponsibility for this division and while this appointment may not have takenplace at the time originally envisaged, it was very much in Frank's mind thatGraeme should be his successor. Investment Banking reached new highs not only in terms of income andprofitability but also in levels of activity. A number of both primary andsecondary issues were successfully completed, including SuperGlass and ourbiggest ever fund-raising, eaga plc. Brewin Dolphin Investment Banking wasvoted Broker of the Year 2007 at the Investors Chronicle AIM Investment Awards,in association with the FT. We look forward to its continued expansion. New Regulation As a Group we have continued to invest significantly in systems andinfrastructure but we have also had to devote very considerable resource inorder to implement new regulation, in particular MiFID (the European Markets inFinancial Instruments Directive). This has imposed a significant additionalburden on people all across the Group and our clients and I must record myappreciation of the hard work and patience that has been put into this veryonerous exercise which probably marks the biggest regulatory change to affectour market since "Big Bang" in 1986. Board Changes New Directors During the year your Board was very pleased to be able to accept therecommendation of the Nominations Committee that Sir Stephen Lamport KCVO andAngela Knight CBE be appointed as Non-Executive Directors. Sir Stephen has served in the Diplomatic Service and The Prince of Wales'sHousehold. He was appointed Private Secretary and Treasurer to The Prince ofWales in October 1996. He has, since October 2002, been Group Director forPublic Policy and Government Affairs for The Royal Bank of Scotland. Sir Stephenhas already made a meaningful contribution to the affairs of your company sincehis appointment and I am pleased to commend his election at the forthcoming AGM. Angela Knight, Chief Executive of the British Bankers Association, has also madea significant contribution to the Board since her appointment this summer. Shewas Chief Executive of our trade association APCIMS for nine years, untilDecember 2006 and gained an immense knowledge of our industry. It gives megreat pleasure to commend her election at the forthcoming AGM. Since the year end two executives of the Company have been appointed to theBoard, namely Sarah Soar and Barry Howard. Sarah is head of our biggest branch,London and is Regional Managing Director of our Southern branches. She also hasresponsibility for business development. Barry Howard has held the post of Group Compliance Director and as such has beenex-officio a member of the Board for a number of years. Both these individualsexercise their duties and responsibilities with diligence, energy and charm andmake excellent additions to your Board. Vikram Lall Vikram Lall joined the Board when the Group acquired Bell Lawrie in 1993 and wasresponsible for our Corporate Finance activities until becoming a Non-ExecutiveDirector in 2003. After fifteen years service Vikram has decided to retire fromthe Board at the AGM. During his time with the Group, Vikram has made a veryvaluable contribution and we shall certainly miss his incisive and uniqueadvice. John Hall Since the year end, John Hall has relinquished his position as Chief Executiveand will be retiring from the Board at the forthcoming AGM. It is nearimpossible to describe the extraordinary contribution that John Hall has made toBrewin Dolphin. He is very much the father of the firm and has been at the helmduring the years in which it has grown to become the United Kingdom's largestindependent investment manager for private clients. John has led the Group with vision, wisdom, resolve, charm and kindness whichwill be impossible to replace in any one individual. On behalf of clients,shareholders and everyone who has or does currently work within our Group Ithank John for his inspired leadership and all he has done for us. While John may be retiring from the Board he does not of course leave ourindustry as he continues to serve as the Chairman of our trade associationAPCIMS, which plays a vital role in representing us and our peers both in theCity and to Government at Westminster and Brussels. New Management Structure I now have the following five pillars of management reporting to me: • David McCorkell, Head of Investment Management (as of 1 October 2007). • Graeme Summers, Head of Investment Banking. • Simon Still, Chief Operating Officer. • Robin Bayford, Finance Director. • Barry Howard, Group Compliance Director. Conclusion The results in the year under review have been achieved thanks to the hard workof our people and the continued support of our clients, for which we areextremely grateful. Against a background of a volatile market, the new year toSeptember 2008 has started satisfactorily. We remain committed as ever topursuing the Company's objective of achieving long term growth and returns forShareholders through the provision of a high-quality service to all our clients. Jamie Matheson 27 November 2007 Chief Executive's Report It is an enormous pleasure to report a record year in this, my last year asChief Executive. Your company has made good progress in all aspects of its business over the past12 months. Overall pre-tax profits rose to £41.7m from £32.0m, an increase of30% over the previous period on turnover of £209m, an increase of 20% over 2006figure of £174m. Fully diluted earnings per share at 13.8p show a rise of 30%from the previous year's figure of 10.6p. On 25 October 2007 we paid a second interim dividend of 3.375p making a total of6.25p for the year against 5.25p for the previous year, an increase of 19%. Aswe announced at our 2007 AGM, your Board are now proposing a final dividend of3.5p, to be approved at the 2008 AGM and will be payable on 7 April 2008. Investment Management Value of Funds 2007 £bn 2006 £bnDiscretionary portfoliomanagement 10.7 8.8 Advisory portfoliomanagement 10.9 10.1 21.6 18.9 Whilst all parts of your company's business have done well I am particularlypleased to report the outstanding progress made by our discretionary fundmanagers. The increase in these funds and the fees which they earn form a soundfoundation for the future profitability of your Group. Total funds underdiscretionary management at year-end were £10.7 billion against £8.8 billion, anincrease of 22% which compares with an increase of just 8.5% on the FT 100 ShareIndex. Over a two year period the increase is from £6.9 billion, no less than55%. After adjusting for staff incentive payments, the return on ourdiscretionary portfolio management business would have risen to £20m an increaseof 47% over last year's figure. Part of the increase arose through convertingfrom our advisory service, but funds under advisory management rose nonethelessto £10.9m, an increase of 8%, giving us total funds under management of £21.6billion, an increase of 14% overall. Financial Results Total Operating Total Operating Income Profit Income Profit 2007 2007 2006 2006 £m £m £m £m Discretionary portfolio management 110.4 15.2 84.9 12.4 Advisory portfolio management 69.3 12.6 66.6 9.2 179.7 27.8 151.5 21.6 I am delighted to report that over the year further teams of highly qualifiedfund managers have continued to join the Group and their clients have followedthem. We have significantly extended our footprint around the country, and wereparticularly glad to open an office in Plymouth, thus extending our coverageinto the South West, an area where prosperity has been building rapidly. Earlier in the year we opened offices in Oxford and Hereford, both of which havemade good progress and have moved into profitability within a few months oftheir opening. More recently we have established offices in York and Swansea which we areconfident will benefit the current year's trading. The York office will moveinto new premises early in the New Year when they will be joined by thepersonnel from our Scarborough office creating a substantial new office. Quite apart from our new offices we have again been fortunate in recruiting highquality client executives with their clients, particularly in the London office. We now have a total of 616 client advisers and investment managers, anincrease of 42 during the last year. These excellent results have been achieved against the considerable distractionof the implementation of new systems and the necessity of asking our clients tocomplete the new questionnaires that are required to comply with MiFIDregulations. There is of course a benefit from all this effort in that we nowhave updated and more detailed knowledge of our clients' circumstances whichwill help us to provide a more complete service in the future. In the meantimewe must again thank our clients for their forbearance for what has been atedious procedure. The wider aspect of tax and financial planning advice is becoming ever moreimportant. During the year we recruited seven additional Financial Plannerstaking the total up to 42 across the Group. We are proposing significantfurther recruitment in the current year. Turnover and profit from this area iscontinuing to grow and on top of this there is considerable further added valuein the wrappers provided for the investment management funds. Investment Banking The Corporate Finance and Institutional Broking Divisions in England andScotland have now been amalgamated into our Investment Banking Division, a titlethat more clearly reflects their function. The merger is a natural progressionfor the two businesses which have been increasingly working together on deals.As will be seen from the following figures the Group's Investment Bankingoperations performed well during the year, completing transactions valued at£1.4 billion and raising equity funds of £0.5 billion for clients. Financial Results Total Operating Total Operating Income Profit Income Profit 2007 2007 2006 2006 £m £m £m £m InvestmentBanking 29.5 7.0 22.1 5.3 The business applied its full range of skills to a number of high profile dealssuch as the Main Market flotations of eaga plc and Superglass plc, therecommended offer for Dobbies plc by Tesco plc and the £180 million recommendedoffer by AIM-quoted Synergy Healthcare plc for Main Market-listed Isotron plc. This year's success could not have been achieved without the efforts of a verycommitted and experienced team of professionals who should rightly take a greatdeal of satisfaction from the 2007 outcome. The dynamism and ongoing commitmentof our clients has also been important to our performance. Our 131 corporateclients showed vision, skill and entrepreneurial drive in creating newopportunities for deals. Our 100 institutional clients continued to support thetransactions worked upon. Conclusion This being my last annual report I would like to express my great gratitude toall my colleagues for their hard work, for their co-operation and for theirpositive attitude to the new challenges that have confronted them and above allfor their commitment to do their very best for our clients. Our Group has beenstrengthened further this year by the arrival of new colleagues, by theintroduction of new systems and last but not least by the strengthening of theManagement Team. In Jamie Matheson and his colleagues we have an extremelyhigh calibre team that enthusiastically espouses and promotes the very specialnature of the Group's culture and ethos. That is why they are passionate aboutthe merits of providing individual advice to clients and at the same time arekeen to embrace the most modern systems and research the latest investmentvehicles. They appreciate that our greatest asset is our people and the120,000 clients that we serve. In their hands we can look to the future withconsiderable confidence. John Hall 27 November 2007 Consolidated Income StatementYear ended 30 September 2007 Year to 52 Weeks to 30 September 2007 30 September 2006 Note £'000s £'000sContinuing operationsRevenue 198,032 164,594Other operating income 11,247 9,044Total income 1 209,279 173,638 Staff costs (117,641) (91,621)Other operating costs (56,882) (55,166) (174,523) (146,787) Operating profit 34,756 26,851Other gains and losses 58 -Finance income 2 7,406 5,235Finance costs 2 (564) (36)Profit before tax 1 41,656 32,050Tax 3 (12,708) (10,045)Profit attributable to equity shareholders of the parentfrom continuing operations 28,948 22,005 Earnings per share From continuing operationsBasic 5 14.5p 11.1p Diluted 5 13.8p 10.6p Consolidated Statement of Recognised Income and ExpenseYear ended 30 September 2007 Year to 30 52 Weeks to 30 September 2007 September 2006 £'000s £'000sGain on revaluation of available-for-sale investments 816 1,509Tax on revaluation of available-for-sale investments (41) (453)Actuarial gain/(loss) on defined benefit pension scheme 1,420 (3,251)Tax on actuarial (gain)/loss on defined benefit pension scheme (620) 975Deferred tax on share based payments 439 720Net income/(expense) recognised directly in equity 2,014 (500)TransfersTransfer gain on revaluation on sale of available-for-sale (54) -investmentsTransfer tax on revaluation on sale of available-for-sale 18 -investmentsTransfer to profit or loss on sale of available-for-sale (36) -investments 1,978 (500)Profit for period 28,948 22,005Total recognised income and expense for the period attributableto equity shareholders of the parent 30,926 21,505 Consolidated Balance SheetAs at 30 September 2007 As at As at 30 September 2007 30 September 2006 £'000s £'000s NoteASSETSNon-current assetsGoodwill 65,767 66,846Property, plant and equipment 20,949 16,920Available-for-sale investments 11,526 10,463Other receivables 2,059 1,988Deferred tax asset 542 2,473 100,843 98,690Current assetsTrading investments 1,251 2,470Trade and other receivables 356,385 251,437Cash and cash equivalents 87,946 61,576 445,582 315,483Total assets 546,425 414,173 LIABILITIESCurrent liabilitiesBank overdrafts 543 3,197Trade and other payables 404,873 279,148Current tax liabilities 4,965 3,256Shares to be issued including premium 4,504 1,000 414,885 286,601Net current assets 30,697 28,882 Non-current liabilitiesRetirement benefit obligation 9,735 15,422Deferred purchase consideration 664 3,444Shares to be issued including premium 5,809 16,500 16,208 35,366Total liabilities 431,093 321,967Net assets 115,332 92,206 EQUITYCalled up share capital 6 2,035 1,995Share premium account 6 86,968 82,755Revaluation reserve 6 7,544 6,805Merger reserve 6 4,562 4,562Profit and loss account 6 14,223 (3,911)Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 6 115,332 92,206 Company Balance SheetAs at 30 September 2007 As at As at 30 September 2007 30 September 2006 £'000s £'000s NoteASSETSNon-current assetsInvestment in subsidiaries 125,160 123,958Available-for-sale investments - 9,500Other receivables 430 430 125,590 133,888Current assetsTrade and other receivables 11,327 6,603Cash and cash equivalents 182 21 11,509 6,624Total assets 137,099 140,512 LIABILITIESCurrent liabilitiesTrade and other payables 14,222 12,841Shares to be issued including premium 4,504 1,000 18,726 13,841Net current liabilities (7,217) (7,217) Non-current liabilitiesShares to be issued including premium 5,809 16,500Deferred tax liability - 2,720 5,809 19,220Total liabilities 24,535 33,061Net assets 112,564 107,451 EQUITYCalled up share capital 6 2,035 1,995Share premium account 6 86,968 82,755Revaluation reserve 6 - 700Merger reserve 6 4,847 4,847Profit and loss account 6 18,714 17,154Equity attributable to equity holders 6 112,564 107,451 Consolidated Cash Flow StatementYear ended 30 September 2007 Year to 52 Weeks to 30 September 2007 30 September 2006 Note £'000s £'000s Net cash flow from operating activities 8 54,183 34,442 Cash flows from investing activities Purchase of goodwill (6,114) (6,289) Purchases of property, plant and equipment (10,106) (11,523) Proceeds from sale of available-for-sale 159 -investments Purchases of available-for-sale investments (400) - Dividend received from available-for-sale 322 249investments Net cash used in investing activities (16,139) (17,563) Cash flows from financing activities Dividends paid to equity shareholders (11,279) (9,884) Proceeds on issue of shares 2,259 1,156 Net cash used in financing activities (9,020) (8,728) Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 29,024 8,151 Cash and cash equivalents at the start of period 58,379 50,228Cash and cash equivalents at the end of period 87,403 58,379 Firm's cash 68,960 47,832Firm's overdraft (543) (3,197)Firm's net cash 68,417 44,635Client settlement cash 18,986 13,744Net cash and cash equivalents 87,403 58,379 Cash and cash equivalents shown in current assets 87,946 61,576Bank overdrafts (543) (3,197)Net cash and cash equivalents 87,403 58,379 1. Revenue and segmental information For management purposes, the Group is divided into two business streams:Investment Management and Investment Banking. These form the basis for theprimary segment information reported below. All operations are carried out inthe United Kingdom and the Channel Islands. 2007 2006 Year 52 Weeks £'000s £'000sTotal incomeInvestment management Discretionary portfolio management 110,413 84,878 Advisory portfolio management 69,326 66,613 179,739 151,491Investment banking 29,540 22,147 209,279 173,638Profit before taxInvestment management Discretionary portfolio management 15,154 12,381 Advisory portfolio management 12,555 9,216 27,709 21,597Investment banking 7,047 5,254 34,756 26,851Other gains and losses and finance income (net) 6,900 5,199 41,656 32,050 Segment assetsInvestment management 398,112 319,654Investment banking 148,313 94,519 546,425 414,173 Segment liabilitiesInvestment management 282,780 227,448Investment banking 148,313 94,519 431,093 321,967 2. Finance income and finance costs 2007 2006 Year 52 Weeks £'000s £'000sFinance incomeInterest income on pension plan assets 60 77Dividends from equity investments 322 249Interest on bank deposits 7,024 4,909 7,406 5,235Finance costsFinance cost of deferred consideration 515 -Interest on bank overdrafts 49 36 564 36 3. Taxation 2007 2006 Year 52 Weeks £'000s £'000sUnited Kingdom Current tax 10,247 7,723 Prior year 430 415Overseas tax Current tax 297 230Prior year 5 - 10,979 8,368United Kingdom deferred tax Current year 2,207 2,040 Prior year (398) (363) Impact of change in tax rate (80) - 12,708 10,045 United Kingdom corporation tax is calculated at 30% (2006: 30%) of the estimated assessable taxableprofit for the period. Taxation for other jurisdictions is calculated at the rates prevailing in the respective jurisdictions. The charge for the year can be reconciled to the profit per the income statement as follows: Profit before tax 41,656 32,050Tax at the UK corporation tax rate of 30% (2006: 30%) 12,497 9,615Tax effect of expenses that are not deductible in determining 395 285taxable profitTax effect of prior year tax 435 415Tax effect of prior year deferred tax (398) (363)Tax effect of options pre November 2002 (259) (88)Tax effect of deferred tax timing differences (4) (1)Tax effect of leasehold property depreciation 122 182Tax effect of change in tax rate on deferred tax (80) -Tax expense 12,708 10,045Effective tax rate for the year 31% 31%In addition to the amount charged to the income statement, deferred tax relating to the revaluation ofthe Group's available for sale investments amounting to £41,000 (2006: £453,000) has been chargeddirectly to equity and deferred tax relating to the actuarial gain/(loss) in the defined benefitpension scheme amounting to £620,000 (2006: £(975,000)) has been debited / (credited) directly toequity. 4. Dividends 2007 2006 Year 52 Weeks £'000 £'000Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in theperiod:First interim dividend paid 10 April 2007, 2.875p per share 5,791 4,970(2006: 2.5p)Second interim dividend paid 25 October 2007, 3.375p per share 6,869 5,488(2006: 2.75p) 12,660 10,458 A final dividend has been declared for the year ended 30 September 2007 of 3.5pper share, it is subject to approval by shareholders at the Annual GeneralMeeting and has not been included as a liability in these financial statements. 5. Earnings per share The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on thefollowing data: 2007 2006Number of shares '000 '000BasicWeighted average number of shares in issue in the period 201,438 198,025DilutedWeighted average number of options outstanding for the period 5,135 4,985Estimated weighted average number of shares earned under 4,712 4,106deferred consideration arrangementsDiluted weighted average number of options and shares for the 211,285 207,116period Earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders £'000s £'000sProfit attributable to equity shareholders of the parent from 28,948 22,005continuing operationsFinance costs of deferred consideration (Note a) 311 - less tax (93) -Adjusted basic profit for the period and attributable earnings 29,166 22,005 From continuing operations Basic 14.5p 11.1p Diluted 13.8p 10.6p a) Finance costs of deferred consideration are added back where the issue of shares is more dilutivethan the interest cost saved. 6. Reserves and reconciliation of changes in equity Called up Share Revaluation Merger Profit and Total share premium reserve reserve loss capital account account £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000sGroup30 September 2005 1,965 79,287 5,749 4,562 (14,515) 77,048Profit for the period - - - - 22,005 22,005Dividends - - - - (10,458) (10,458)Issue of shares 30 3,468 - - - 3,498Revaluation - - 1,509 - - 1,509Deferred tax on items taken directly to - - (453) - 1,695 1,242equityShare based payments - - - - 613 613Actuarial loss on defined benefit pension - - - - (3,251) (3,251)scheme30 September 2006 1,995 82,755 6,805 4,562 (3,911) 92,206Profit for the period - - - - 28,948 28,948Dividends - - - - (12,660) (12,660)Issue of shares 40 4,213 - - - 4,253Revaluation - - 816 - - 816Deferred tax on items taken directly to - - (41) - (181) (222)equityReleased on sale of available-for-sale - - (36) - - (36)investmentsShare based payments - - - - 607 607Actuarial gain on defined benefit pension - - - - 1,420 1,420scheme30 September 2007 2,035 86,968 7,544 4,562 14,223 115,332 Called up Share Revaluation Merger Profit and Total share premium reserve reserve loss capital account account £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000sCompany30 September 2005 1,965 79,287 - 4,847 11,578 97,677Profit for the period - - - - 15,421 15,421Dividends - - - - (10,458) (10,458)Share based payments - - - - 613 613Issue of shares 30 3,468 - - - 3,498Revaluation - - 1,000 - - 1,000Deferred tax on items taken directly to - - (300) - - (300)equity30 September 2006 1,995 82,755 700 4,847 17,154 107,451Profit for the period - - - - 13,613 13,613Dividends - - - - (12,660) (12,660)Share based payments - - - - 607 607Issue of shares 40 4,213 - - - 4,253Released on sale of available-for-sale - - (700) - - (700)investments30 September 2007 2,035 86,968 - 4,847 18,714 112,564 7. Provisions Recent legal actions in relation to split capital trusts have largely beenconcluded and the debtor included in the 2006 accounts has been recovered frominsurers. Where there are remaining legal actions the estimated liability hasbeen included in other creditors with the insurance debtor included in otherdebtors. These amounts have not been separately disclosed as the disclosurewould be seriously prejudicial to the Group. The net effect of the abovematters on the Income Statement for the year ended 30 September 2007 is notmaterial. 8. Notes to the cash flow statement 2007 Year 2006 52 Weeks £'000s £'000sGroupOperating profit 34,756 26,851Adjustments for: Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 6,057 3,771 Retirement benefit obligation (4,267) (766) Share based payment cost 607 613 Interest income 6,779 4,987 Interest expense (564) (36)Operating cash flows before movements in working capital 43,368 35,420 Increase in receivables and trading investments (104,674) (21,014) Increase in payables 124,647 27,407Cash generated by operating activities 63,341 41,813 Tax paid (9,158) (7,371)Net cash flow from operating activities 54,183 34,442 Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and bank overdrafts. Funds At 30 September At 30 September 2007 2006 £Billion £BillionIn Group's nominee or sponsored member 10.4 8.6Stock not held in Group's nominee 0.3 0.2Discretionary funds under management 10.7 8.8 In Group's nominee or sponsored member 8.2 7.2Other funds where valuations are carried out but where the stock 2.7 2.9is not under the Group's controlAdvisory funds under management 10.9 10.1 Managed funds 21.6 18.9 In Group's nominee or sponsored member 3.2 2.4Stock not held in Group's nominee 0.3 0.3Execution only stock 3.5 2.7 Total funds 25.1 21.6 StockIn Group's nominee or sponsored member 21.8 18.2Stock not held in Group's nominee 3.3 3.4 25.1 21.6 9. Additional Information The accounting policies used in arriving at the preliminary figures areconsistent with those which will be published in the full financial statementsand which were set out in the Group's Annual Report and Accounts for 2006. The financial information in this press release does not constitute statutoryaccounts within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985, but isderived from these accounts. Statutory accounts for 2006 have been delivered tothe Register of Companies, and those for 2007 will be delivered following theCompany's Annual General Meeting. The Auditors have reported on those accounts;their reports were unqualified and did not contain statements under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. Whilst the financial information included in this preliminary announcement hasbeen computed in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards(IFRSs), this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information tocomply with IFRSs. The Company's 2007 statutory accounts do comply with IFRSs;it is expected that they will be published in full in January 2008. All financial information has been prepared in accordance with InternationalFinancial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). The Annual General meeting will be held at 12 noon on 22 February 2008 atMerchant Taylors' Hall, 30 Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8JB. 10. Availability of Annual Report The Annual Report will be posted to shareholders during January 2008; copieswill be available from the registered office of the Company, 12 SmithfieldStreet, London, EC1A 9BD. It will be available as a download from the Company'swebsite www.brewin.co.uk. A further notification will be made to advise of posting and publishing onwebsite. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
BRW.L