Cirencester-based wealth management firm St James's Place swung to a loss last year.

SJP's loss after tax amounted to £9.9m for the year to 31 December, compared with a net profit of £407.2m a year earlier.

The company set aside a £426m provision for potential client refunds over historic servicing complaints.

CEO Mark FitzPatrick said the group will be forced into a change of strategy for investor payouts.

He said: "Overall, 2023 was a difficult year for SJP but we've faced into our challenges. We've raised our standards around both the delivery and evidencing of ongoing client servicing and we've announced changes across our business, including our charges structure, so that we're in good shape for the future.

"It has been a challenging backdrop for UK savers and investors, but it is at times like these that advice really makes a difference, helping people stay on course to meet their long-term financial goals.

"Against this background, the hard work of everyone in our SJP community to keep delivering for clients has driven a resilient business performance where we've achieved continued strong net inflows underpinned by high client retention, strong investment performance, and record funds under management.

"With expenses managed tightly in the context of a high inflation environment, our underlying financial performance has been robust and the pre-tax underlying cash result is broadly unchanged year on year, albeit 4% lower on a post-tax basis due to the higher corporation tax rate in effect for 2023."