Cirencester-based investors St James's Place has issued its best-ever financial results.

Figures from the 32-year-old FTSE 100 company, which is headquartered in Cirencester and runs more than 20 offices throughout the UK, indicated an underlying cash result of £410.1m for the year ending December 31 2022 - a significant advance on £401.2m over the previous year.

The news consolidates the company as the largest of its kind in the UK. In 2021 it was reported to have £135 billion in funds under management.

For 2022, IFRS profits before shareholder tax were also up from £353.8m to £501.8m.

Andrew Croft, Chief Executive Officer, said: "After a year when the external environment proved favourable to many businesses in our industry, 2022 presented a more challenging backdrop as UK consumers faced the reality of sharply rising inflation, macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, and investment market volatility.

"Despite this, we achieved the second-best year for new business flows in our history as our advisers performed admirably in helping clients feel confident in their finances and remain on track for the future. While investment markets recorded negative returns over the year, the strength of our net inflows means that funds under management closed the period at £148.4 billion."

The investment management company also reports success in managing its controllable cost base, containing growth to 5% as planned.

Croft added: "This supported the delivery of a record Underlying cash result of £410.1 million. Reflecting our policy of paying out around 70% of the Underlying cash result, the Board therefore proposes a final dividend of 37.19 pence per share, making for a full year dividend of 52.78 pence per share, up c.2%.

"It remains clear to us that the demand for trusted, face-to-face advice is only getting stronger, so with a growing Partnership and a business in great shape, we continue to be well positioned to capitalise on our market opportunity and deliver against our 2025 ambitions."

Given the experience of 2023, the firm is "encouraged to see indicators that UK inflation may have peaked and that there are some signs of optimism for the direction of economies and investment markets worldwide," he added.

"As we stated in our new business update in January, a sustained recovery in such indicators would naturally be conducive towards improving consumer sentiment, activity levels and of course funds under management, as 2023 unfolds."