The boss of a wealth management company which looks after more than £15 billion of clients’ assets said it had given its workforce a special pay rise to help meet the rising cost of living.
Mattioli Woods chief executive Ian Mattioli said staff had been given improved pay and benefits at the start of the year to help pay their bills.
The salary review meant most staff, excluding executives and senior management, received an additional 2 per cent in their pay packets backdated to December 1, 2021.
Only last week the governor of the Bank of England came under pressure after saying workers should avoid asking for excessive pay rises to prevent inflation increasing further.
Andrew Bailey, who took home £575,538 in pay and benefits last year, said staff should show restraint on pay, despite soaring energy and fuel bills and increases in the cost of shopping.
He warned that inflation could hit 7.25 per cent by April on the back of things such as energy costs, increased freight and transportation costs and global competition for products and materials as the rest of the world bounces back from the pandemic.
Mr Bailey said it was unlikely that inflation would fall back to normal levels for two years, as the Bank raised interest rates to 0.5 per cent with further rises expected.
Mattioli Woods is among a number of Leicester-based businesses bumping up wages to help workers meet the rising cost of living.
Next Plc, based just outside the city, recently announced average wage inflation across the group of 5.4 per cent.
The high street clothes giant said that was driven by the increase in the national living wage of 6.6 per cent, along with wage inflation in parts of the business where there are labour shortages – notably in warehousing and technology.
Meanwhile Leicester digital marketing specialist Anicca Digital has just given its staff a 5 per cent pay rise.
Announcing the move on its Linked In page, Anicca management said: “Why should our hard working team have less in their pocket at the end of the month due to an increase in inflation?
“We wanted something to celebrate for our 15th birthday, but what's the point if our crew are about to lose part of their wage to bills. Nothing makes us more motivated than a happy team.”
Mr Mattioli said: “Our normal pay awards were made in September then we put in an additional amount in January, backdated to December, just to keep people in the game because of the rate of inflation.”
Mr Mattioli said the business was currently looking for “50-80” new recruits in roles ranging from compliance and accounting through to security and data processing.
Announcing Mattioli Woods’ interim results for the half year to November 30, he said following strong growth and significant acquisitions, the business now looked after £4.5 billion more money than in the same six months a year earlier.
Turnover, he said, had risen to £49.9 million for the half year, up from £29.5 million 12 months earlier, partly thanks to £19.4 million coming from companies it had brought into the listed group.
The eight acquisitions made since June 2020 included the two biggest to date – Maven Capital Partners and Ludlow Wealth Management.
Organic year-on-year growth was 11.1 per cent, while adjusted profit before tax had almost doubled to £14.1 million.
Mr Mattioli said the firm’s clients needed long-term advice and strategies more than ever before.
He said: "We are pleased by our performance in the first half of the financial year, which has seen the group thrive.
“We plan to build on this positive momentum, advancing our key strategic initiatives - new business generation, growth through the integration of strategic acquisitions, developing new products and services, reviewing our processes and investing in technology to deliver an improved digital client interface and further operational efficiencies.
“Our trading outlook for the year remains in line with management's expectations and we believe the group is well-positioned to grow, both organically and by acquisition.
“We are committed to delivering our ambitious growth strategy and in doing so create a business that remains responsibly integrated for the benefit of our clients and well-positioned to deliver sustainable shareholder returns."
