AJ Bell shares soar amid sharp rise in customer numbers

Shares in AJ Bell soared on Friday as it revealed a jump in customer numbers and hit a new record amount of assets under administration.

The investing firm said it added 51,000 customers in the six months to March, a 9% increase to 593,000.

Meanwhile, assets under administration rose to £90.4 billion, a 5% increase, mostly driven by £3.3 billion in net inflows.

AJ Bell said it had seen similarly strong momentum into April, despite significant volatility in global financial markets amid Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

The company said it has seen “increased trading activity” as customers responded to fast swings on both the stock and bond markets.

“We have repeatedly broken our own records for new customer applications during the recent tax year end,” said chief executive Michael Summersgill.

“This performance has been driven by our low-cost, easy-to-use propositions, excellent customer service and improved brand awareness, demonstrating the benefits of our continued investment in these areas.”

The company said revenues for the six-month period were £153.2 million, up 17% compared with the same point last year.

AJ Bell shares jumped as high as 10% on the announcement on Friday, after profit and revenue beat analyst expectations.

The company said it would invest more money into growing the business over the second half of the year, which means its costs will also be higher.

But it said the higher overheads will be “more than offset” by the increase in revenue.

Mr Summersgill added: “In March and April there was also significant market volatility, resulting in heightened levels of customer activity.

“During this period, we continued to provide great service to our customers and advisers, illustrating the scalability and resilience of our operations.

“Our focus remains on delivering long-term organic growth and continuing to increase our market share.”