Financial accounts just filed for Goodbody Stockbrokers Unlimited record a dramatic improvement in its financial performance in 2024, boosted by increased fee income.
The business, headed by CEO Martin Tormey, generated revenues of €92.7m – up 26pc. It also swung to a profit of €7.7m for the year, compared with steep losses of €7m in 2023.
The injection of capital by 100pc owner AIB came in December of 2024, the accounts show.
Its the first major investment since the business was bought in 2021 for €138m.
The capital contribution in December 2024 is to support future growth opportunities, according to the filed accounts – that suggests the broker may now be in the hunt for acquisitions, as well as providing significant scope for organic expansion. It is in addition to retained earnings, which last year’s profit helped lift to €55.6m.
Goodbody Stockbrokers has been linked this year to a potential bid for BCP Asset Management, thought to be valued at under €15m.
That would fit with comments by AIB’s chief financial officer Donal Galvin earlier this year, when he said the banking group was interested in building up its wealth-management businesses in Ireland, if acquisitions were on the cards, rather than looking to move into the UK or other overseas markets.
The wealth-management segment has becoming increasingly competitive as domestic and international firms look to build-up scale in the Irish market, where a decade of economic growth and a growing and increasingly wealth population has created a significant “mass affluent” market with relatively little tradition of investing beyond savings, property and household-name shares.
AIB’s “wealth” businesses include full ownership of Goodbody Stockbrokers and its AIB Life partnership with Great-West Lifeco.
The latest Goodbody accounts show it paid an initial €2.975m in 2023 when it bought a 75pc stake in environmental, social and governance (ESG) advisory consultancy Clearstream Solutions, seen as a potential growth area for the business.
The broker has an option in place to potential buy the balance of that business next year.
The results show the business had 399 staff in 2024 and a wage bill of €46.5m. The bulk of staff are based in the Republic, with 17 working in the UK.
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