Stock is rising for expanding brokers

Stuart Brookes, joint MD for stockbrockers Hargreave Hale who have moved to new premises on Boardmans Way

Hargreave Hale has moved into a new 21,000 sq ft building at Whitehills Business Park, more than twice the space of its previous base with space for 260 staff.

The new headquarters will house Hargreave Hale’s administration and IT functions alongside the front office investment team.

The firm which has seen demand soar for its bespoke investment management services said that up to 14 new positions will be filled in the coming months.

And joint managing director Stuart Brookes said the quality of young people they have been taking on in Blackpool has improved in recent years.

He said: “We are pleased to celebrate the opening of our new headquarters in Blackpool, having already been based in the region for over 100 years.

“In just the last two years we have seen staffing levels increase by around 35 per cent and our new premises will allow for further expansion.

“In terms of job creation and the apprenticeship programme we are currently developing, this move gives us the opportunity to make a very important contribution to the local economy.

“We are getting highly skilled staff applying for positions with us in the Fylde area.

“We are recruiting people at a young age and have put together a modern apprenticeships programme for 18 to 21-year-olds.

“The Fylde coast skills set has definitely improved over the past couple of years.

“That means we have to pay better salaries but the upside is that we get much more productive staff.

“But we are also recruiting experienced people too. I think many of the national stockbrokers are moving towards an off-the-shelf solution for customers, which may be more efficient for the company but not for investors.

“Many traditional stockbrokers do not like that way of working. They feel uneasy meeting the clients but then having someone in the back office making investment decisions for them. So we have attracted some very experienced staff.

“We offer a much more tailored service to our clients. We call it individual intelligent investment and it is designed to suit their needs more closely.

“We have had a successful year with this approach.

“We have opened regional offices in York in 2014 and Norwich and Nottingham last year and are seeing the benefits of those come on stream now.

“We also expanded our regional hub in Worcester with a move to new office double the size of the old one.

“Our funds under management have grown to £5.8bn a rate of about £100m a month this year.

“Revenues are up from £35m to £40m in the year just ended.”