Press Releases

International Money Marketing
July/August 2004
Turnover doubles for international IFA

The Inter-Alliance International (IAI) Group enjoyed an increase in turnover of 111 per cent in the first five months of this year compared with the same period in 2003. The improvement, which comes at an opportune time with IAI's parent company in merger talks with UK IFA firm Millfield Group, follows turnover growth of 81 per cent for 2003.

IAI's subsidiary firms saw turnover increase by 36 per cent in the first five months of this year, and chief executive Brian Cosgrave says all regions within the group are now in profit. While sales are steady in Africa, turnover raised by 18 per cent in Asia as the Bahrain brokerage, staffed by ex-Towry Law International consultants, began operating.

Cosgrave does not rule out recruiting further consultants from TLI, which announced it was closing to new business at the end of May. "There are some good quality consultants at TLI", he says, "but at the moment they are waiting to see what happens with the closure of TLI."

Cosgrave attributes the sharp increase in turnover to having "good quality people, greater productivity, a reduction in its cost base, and the changes we made last year". The latter include a new fee structure for the network, fewer but larger member firms, and introducing a scheme to bring together interested buyers and sellers of brokerages.

The merger talks between Inter Alliance and Millfield Group, both of which are listed on the London Stock Exchange, are said to be making "good progress" by the former's chief executive Keith Carby. The move follows the recent collapse of merger talks between Inter Alliance and another UK IFA, Berkeley Berry Birch, after four months.