GROUP INVESTMENT manager Brewin Dolphin is growing its already strong presence in Newcastle after taking on 24 new starters.

The new recruits join over 370 staff at the firm’s Newcastle office and will help provide administrative support for investment management and financial planning experts based in 40 offices throughout the Brewin Dolphin Group in the UK and Channel Islands.

Charles May, head of office at Brewin Dolphin Newcastle said: “We’re delighted to be able to grow our business support team here in Newcastle.

“The wealth of knowledge, talent and experience that these 24 new staff members bring to Brewin Dolphin will further strengthen our ability to meet the needs of our clients and expert investment management teams, not just here in Newcastle, but throughout the entire Brewin Dolphin group.”

During the year, Brewin has made a number of new appointments to its Newcastle office, including assistant director Lucinda Beaumont from its Edinburgh branch and business development manager John Illingworth, who joined the firm from Scottish Widows.

Barney Hawkins, formerly a senior director at UBS Wealth Management in Newcastle, also joined the Brewin Dolphin team this year. He has more than 20 year’s experience in managing people’s money.

This recruitment drive comes just weeks after Brewin Dolphin announced its impressive full-year performance results.

The group reported a 2.1% increase in its total income for the year to September 30 to £269.5m.

Pre-tax profits, before exceptional items including redundancy costs, additional FSCS levy, acquisition of subsidiary costs and amortisation of client relationships, rose by 8.3% to £42.9m.

Funds under management reached £25.9bn, a 7.9% year on year rise, with the most significant being the 16.7% growth of discretionary funds to £18.2bn. Brewin pointed out that the FTSE 100 rose by 12% and the APCIMS Private Investor Series Balanced Portfolio rose by 10.2% in the same period.