Numis will stop making new direct investments and focus on expanding its stockbroking and advisory businesses, the mid-cap investment bank said as it announced it had tumbled to a first-half pre-tax loss of £6.4m ($9.7m).

The loss was due largely to the changing fortunes of Numis’s investment portfolio. It recorded fair value losses of £8m in the six months to March 31, compared with a £9.3m investment gain for the same period of last year.