HARGREAVES LANSDOWN has recorded a six per cent increase in net new business over the past three months as clients sought to lock in deals at the end of the tax year.

In the three months to June, the share trading giant saw £1.7bn of net new business, despite the market more broadly seeing outflows.

Shares in Hargreaves Lansdown were trading over seven per cent higher on Wednesday afternoon.

Chief exec Chris Hill said much of the increase stemmed from clients seeking to find the best deals at the end of the tax year.

Assets under administration rose two per cent in the quarter to £134bn; client numbers grew 13,000.

Analysts at Peel Hunt praised the "strong flows through difficult markets" while Neil Shah, director at Edison Group, said the results were "the best that Hargreaves Lansdown can currently hope for" given the "anaemic investment environment".

However, the firm also noted a continued trend in which "specific cohorts of clients" are making cash withdrawals to cope with inflation.

The volume of shares traded was also 11 per cent lower than the previous quarter as investor confidence was hit by rising interest rates and market volatility.

On Monday Deanna Oppenheimer, boss since 2018, said she would step down following a series of spats.

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper