Stanley still seeing cautious investors

Jonathan Baker, head of the Charles Stanley office in Leeds, said the outlook among Yorkshire investors is still fairly cautious but there are considerable opportunities.

He said the biggest reason for caution is the Emergency Budget on June 22.

"We know Capital Gains Tax is going to go up, but the question is when? Will it be from June 23 or the end of the year? These are the questions that our clients are asking," he said.

He added that the group's Yorkshire investors are not too worried about Government cuts.

"The Government needs to do something. Our clients see that we cannot keep spending the way we've been spending," he said.

He added that the general feeling is that Yorkshire is slowly coming out of recession, with local building sites restarting development.

"Things are feeling more positive," he said.

Charles Stanley reported a 10 per cent rise in adjusted pre-tax profits to 13.7m in the year to March 31, helped by higher revenue from private clients.

It raised its full-year dividend by eight per cent to 9.45p from 8.75p

The company said it was more confident about its medium-term outlook than in the past couple of years.

Revenue climbed 13 per cent to 115m with revenue from private clients rising 14 per cent to 96.1m.

Mr Baker said the group is looking to expand its Leeds office from the current six staff to 15.

"Our office is now profitable, we've only been open for 18 months and we started in one of the worst recessions ever seen. We are doing well," said Mr Baker.