Close Brothers Group plc (CBG) Q4 2025 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Thank you, Lorenzo, and good morning and welcome to the presentation of Close Brothers 2025 preliminary results. I'll begin with an overview of the year. After that, I will hand over to Fiona McCarthy, our group CFO, who will walk you through our financial performance, and then I'll return to update you on our strategic priorities and wrap up the presentation. We'll be happy to take your questions afterwards, both via the telephone conference line and over the webcast. You can submit your questions either during or after the presentation. This year has shown that change is possible and that we can move at pace. We've strengthened our capital position, reshaped the portfolio and addressed legacy issues. Our performance demonstrates the resilience of our business model and the impact of these actions. We're also encouraged by the growth opportunities across our chosen markets, which I'll touch on shortly. We significantly strengthened our capital position, with over 400 million of CET1 capital generated or preserved since March 2024. At 31 July 2025, we achieved a CET1 capital ratio of 13.8% or 14.3% following the sale of Winterflood. This is after taking account of the impact of the Motor Commission's provision and the actions taken to simplify the group and address legacy matters. We've already delivered 25 million of annualised savings by the end of FY25, ahead of initial guidance. Today, we're announcing that we will deliver at least another 20 million of additional annualised savings in each of the next three years, a total of 60 million. We have also simplified the group through the sale of Close Brothers Asset Management, Winterflood and Brewery Rentals. And we've repositioned our premium finance business towards commercial lines where returns are more attractiv...