Numis rallying after profits are slashed by half

Mini-investment bank Numis saw its profits halve to £4.2 million in the year to September but chief executive Oliver Hemsley is pretty sure the worst is over.

He said: "The first half was a matter of survival in the wake of Lehman's collapse. The second half was one of recapitalisation for our larger client companies.

"The first two months of the new year have seen a degree of normality return and we have had am excellent start."

That is best shown by the fact that while Numis raised £787 million for its clients in the whole of last year it has since raised £353 million for them in October and November alone.

Numis gained 44 new corporate clients last year taking its total to 122, with an average stock market value of more than £200 million. The final dividend rises 10% to 5.5p a share.