NM ROTHSCHILD & SON, the family-controlled merchant bank, said profits had risen by 15 per cent to £22.5 million for the year to March 31.
Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, succeeded as chairman by his cousin Baron David de Rothschild in March, said the bank had gained reasonable results, although more changes were on the way. “We have to be more versatile in our thinking,” he said.
NM Rothschild has simplified its structure by linking the family’s French and British arms, which have been associated with banking for 200 years. In April it abandoned commodities trading and its link with the gold market.
Total operating income was £192.4 million, 6.2 per cent lower than a year before. The bank’s clients included Arsenal, the English football club.
In June Cazenove, one of Rothschild’s few independent investment banking peers, reported a nearly three-fold rise in full-year profit before tax to £41.7 million. Cazenove is now likely to follow others and give up its independence, either through a stock market listing or a takeover by a rival.
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Lazard, another Rothschild peer, is also thought to be considering a stock market listing.