Financial turmoil drove Brewin Dolphin’s pre-tax profits down 38 per cent for the six months to March 31, but the investment manager said it was optimistic that the worst might be over.

Though total first-half income was up 1 per cent to £105m, pre-tax profit fell from £21.8m to £13.6m. Fully diluted earnings per share were 5.4p, down from 7.2p last year. The interim dividend is held at 3.55p.