Ivory & Sime loses two of its directors

ALAN McFARLANE, the Ivory & Sime director responsible for attracting institutional clients, and David Nichol, responsible for the fund manager's private clients, are both leaving.

Mr Nichol, 47, is retiring after 20 years with the company while Mr McFarlane, 35, has resigned after less than two and a half years. Mr McFarlane was recently described as 'one of the new breed . . . who have pulled the house round after some difficult times'.

Mr Nichol, who Ivory & Sime thanked for his contribution, will retain an association with the fund manager as a director of Pacific Assets Trusts, which it manages.

The departures accompanied Ivory & Sime's interim results, which showed pre-tax profits up 9 per cent at pounds 2.3m. Earnings per share rose by 19 per cent, aided by the company's buying-in of 2.25 million of its own shares.

The interim dividend rises by 40 per cent to 1.75p a share, in line with the company's intention to increase the interim payout as a proportion of the final. Ivory & Sime plans at least to maintain the final dividend at 4.5p, which would increase the total by 9 per cent to 6.25p a share.

Administrative expenses were cut by nearly pounds 350,000 to pounds 4.8m. David Newbigging, chairman, said: 'The improvement in some stock markets, together with the recent devaluation of sterling, is having a positive influence on our revenues. With costs remaining under control, we believe that the results for the full year will be satisfactory.'