XPS Pensions Group posts 20% revenue growth in full year results

The pensions advisory and administration business reported revenue growth across nearly all its business areas - posting 24% growth in pensions actuarial and consulting as well as 31% growth in pensions investment consulting.

Source: XPS Pensions Group. Note (1): Management responsibilities and operations for a small part of XPS Pensions Group's business moved during the year from its pensions division to administration. Related revenue was £1.5m, and the prior year (which has been restated) was also £1.5m.

It said strong client demand, inflationary fee increases and bolt on mergers and acquisitions drove the overall 20% growth in group revenues over the year - also pointing towards organic growth of 17% year-on-year.

The results represent the sixth consecutive year of growth for XPS Pensions Group since it listed - performance it said underscored the non-cyclical and resilient nature of the business.

XPS said it had good new business performance over the year winning new clients across all our business units - adding it had experienced strong growth in higher margin value-add services including risk transfer, defined contribution (DC) consulting, scheme secretarial and corporate consulting.

It added its new administration platform - which it said would drive operational efficiency and new business opportunities - was also developed during the year and successfully went live in June 2023.

And it pointed towards its M&A strategy - with the acquisition of Penfida, boosting its capability in employer covenant advice - as well as what it said was an "agile" response to the liability-driven investment (LDI) crisis, bolstering its new business pipeline in investment consulting.

XPS Pensions Group co-chief executive (CEO) Paul Cuff said he was pleased with the group's performance during what was a busy year - noting the firm's investments in a number of business areas were now paying off.

He said: "[It was] a year in which many of the investments we have made in the group's services really paid off, as we grew strongly and gained real market traction in areas such as risk transfer work and DC consulting. This, combined with new client wins coming onboard, and against the backdrop of higher contractual inflationary fee increases coming through, drove a record year of growth for the firm.

"We were delighted to welcome new colleagues to the group through the acquisition of Penfida, which enhanced our existing capability in the area of employer covenant advice. This is in line with our strategy to offer a market leading service across the full range of support that our clients need."

Co-CEO Ben Bramhall added: "The delivery of our new administration platform, Aurora, is a big milestone for our pensions administration business. It was delivered on time and on budget and is now live. We are excited as Aurora is truly cutting edge and will deliver a better experience for our clients and their members. It is already driving new business opportunities for us in this area."