Braemar increases assets under management

Hale-based property manager Braemar Estates increased its assets under administration from £750m at the end of June to £780m on 31 December 2011.

Braemar Estates is part of AIM-listed wealth management group Brooks Macdonald, which gave the update as part of a trading statement to the stockmarket on Monday.

The board said trading for the second half of last year was in line with expectations and 'good progress' is being made in all areas of the business.

As at 31 December 2011 discretionary funds under management across the group were £3.205bn, up 7% compared to the same time in 2010, or 11% if the acquisition of South West firm Clarke Willmott is included.

Earlier this month, Brooks Macdonald agreed a three-year sponsorship deal with Middlesex County Cricket Club to 'increase the visibility of the Brooks Macdonald brand'.

The group is due to publish its half-year results on Tuesday13 March.

Chris Macdonald, chief executive, said: "The group made good progress in the half year across all of its activities in spite of extreme volatility in both sentiment and markets. We continue to work hard on delivering risk adjusted returns to our clients whilst continuing to improve our service, increasing our distribution capabilities, back office functionality and raising the profile of the group. With this last point in mind we are very excited about our sponsorship of Middlesex cricket."

Shares in the company were down 15p to 1115p by mid-afternoon Monday.