In its financial results for the year ending 31 December 2017, STM chief executive Alan Kentish said the firm had “delivered record profits during 2017, significantly up on 2016”.
Revenue for the year was up circa 24% to £21.5m ($30.5m, €24.6m) from £17.4m the previous year. Profit before tax rose to £4m, having been £2.6m in 2016.
In the Spring Budget 2017, the UK chancellor announced a 25% charge on Qrops transfer to non-European Economic Area countries or third countries in which the pension owner would not reside for at least five years after the transfer.
The expected 80% hit to new business “proved correct”, but Kentish added that the firm was “able to come to the market in short order with an alternative, UK regulated, product to service our international distribution network”.
“This has seen most of this lost new Qrops business by both policy number and revenue replaced by our International Sipp offering.”
The refocus on the UK saw the firm announce it was relocating its headquarters from Gibraltar to the UK.
Malta acquisition
In November 2017, STM announced it was acquiring Malta-based pension company Harbour Pensions. The acquisition was formally approved in February by the Malta Financial Services Authority.
The company is now in the process of integrating the business with its existing Maltese operation.
Regulatory issues
In the financial results, Kentish admitted that “the second year of my tenure has certainly been more eventful than I would have wished”, presumably alluding to an investigation in Gibraltar into Kentish by the police’s Money Laundering Unit on suspicion of failure to disclose.
The company also stated that it has “experienced regulatory issues in some of the jurisdictions in which we operate over the last few years”.
In early 2017, STM appointed a head of enterprise risk management for the group as part of further improving its corporate governance framework.
“Already in 2018, we have made important changes to our corporate governance arrangements, including proposed further appointments of [non-executive directors] to the subsidiary boards,” Riddell said.
“The group will be continuing to make more improvement over the rest of 2018,” he added.
People Moves
The chairman of STM, Mike Riddell, has announced his departure after three years in his current role and seven on the STM board.
Riddell will not stand for re-election at the AGM in May 2018, with his retirement effective on 23 May.
