Gatehouse Bank posts revenue growth of 20% for 2014

Gatehouse Bank plc (“Gatehouse”), is pleased to announce revenue of £15.5 million for the year ending 31 December 2014, an increase of 20% as compared with the same period in 2013. Over the same period, total assets also increased strongly by 18% to £264 million. Fahed Faisal Boodai, Chairman of Gatehouse, commented “2014 was a year of significant reshaping for Gatehouse and we completed several important strategic initiatives which will serve to fortify the Bank’s platform for growth. We strengthened the management team in a number of areas, including the hiring of a new Chief Executive in April 2014. We started the simplification of the corporate structure which will deliver benefits of scale, distribution, governance and efficiency as we grow and diversify our lines of business. And we prepared the launch of a new retail online savings platform that will support the faster growth of the bank’s balance sheet. Alongside the implementation of these initiatives, I am very pleased that the bank was still able to increase revenue by 20% during the year.” The bank’s businesses were very active during the year and delivered a total of nine exits from the real estate portfolio, all of which were profitable and generating £180 million in recycled equity for our clients. “A major focus during 2014 has been on longer-term strategic initiatives so I am particularly pleased at the strong and consistent performance that has been delivered by our investment teams” commented Henry Thompson, Gatehouse’s Chief Executive Officer. “Nine profitable exits and £180 million of equity is a great boost for the franchise and will certainly support the growth in our client base and the development of future investment activities.” Net profit for the year ending 31 December 2014 was £4.1 million, a slight increase over the £4.0 million recorded in 2013. “Unsurprisingly, the reorganisation of the business held back profit growth during the year which was only marginally up compared with 2013. But I am pleased to report that comprehensive profit, reflecting the strong performance of the bank’s investment underwriting, was up by 212% to £5.3 million.” Thompson added “With the support and hard-work of the board and the management team, we made strong progress during 2014 in restructuring the business to develop in a number of areas. Notably, we are developing our offering to include a wider range of Shariah-compliant investment products. This, alongside improved distribution strength in our core GCC and South East Asian markets, will allow us to appeal to a broader base of institutional and high net worth investors. All this represents significant strategic shifts for Gatehouse, and we are excited about delivering the benefits of these changes for our shareholders during 2015.”