Close Brothers shares jump 10% after cost savings beat targets despite £60m loss and dividend axe

From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026.

Close Brothers has reported a pre-tax operating loss of £60.3 million for the year to July 31, a 51% improvement on the £122.4 million loss recorded a year earlier, driven by cost cuts that arrived well ahead of schedule. Chief Executive Mike Morgan said loan book growth picked up pace in the second half of the year, giving management the confidence to target 5–10% annual growth through the next cycle. Shares climbed as much as 10% to 425.60p in morning trading after the results were published.

Close Brothers reduced annual costs by £36m against an initial £25m target, and expects savings in the coming year to top £60m.

A further £164.7m provision for the motor finance commission scandal brought the bank's total exposure to around £320m, prompting the decision to scrap the final dividend.

The group says no redundancies beyond the 600 previously flagged are planned, even though the pace of its cost reduction programme has roughly doubled.