CLOSE Brothers Group has returned record pre-tax profits of £190m. – a rise of 21% on the previous year. The specialist merchant banking group announced record profits in asset management of £78m. and in corporate finance, although securities and banking were down slightly on the 2006 results.

‘The group had a successful year with headline profit of £190m. including exceptional investment gains and fees of some £43m.,’ said chief executive Colin Keogh.

‘In the face of current market uncertainty, our long-standing prudent approach to liquidity and our broad spread of activities give us confidence in our resilience and long-term growth prospects.’

The group said that conditions for its stock market-related businesses had been favourable with exceptional performance in asset management, which has been substantially reorganised over the previous two years.

There were high levels of activity in private equity.

It also claimed to have resisted ‘siren calls’ for aggressive lending because of high levels of liquidity in the market.

Mr Keogh said that as a result loan book growth had been difficult, but the incidence of bad debts had remained low and the company retained its margins.

Close has a number of local operations at its base in Trafalgar Court at Admiral Park.