Smith & Williamson reports 9% fee hike

Smith & Williamson, the financial and professional services firm, has reported a 9% growth in operating income to £266.7m with profitability up double digits year on year, and continued growth across all business lines for the year ended 30 April 2018.

Operating income for the total business increased by 9.0% to £266.7m (2017: £244.6m) and adjusted operating profit by 13.8% to £46.2m (2017: £40.6m).

Tax and business services was up 8.9% to £119m, up from £109m in 2017, with significant growth in tax up 12%, forensic accounting up 17% and corporate finance up 22%.

Smith & Williamson, ranked 8th in the annual Accountancy Top 75 survey, said it will continue to target potential firms for acquisition and has a strong balance sheet with net cash of £180m across the business.