MacarthurCook reports strong revenue growth

Boutique property fund manager MacarthurCook has reported an 81 per cent increase in revenues for the 2005-06 financial year.

The fund manager company reported revenues of $14.2 million, which delivered an after-tax profit of just over $2 million, up 134 per cent on the previous year.

The 2005-06 financial year also saw MacarthurCook pass through the $1 billion funds under management barrier and managing director Craig Dunstan has set a target of doubling this in the medium term.

He sees the current structure of the company reaching up to $5 billion of funds under management in the long term.

The growth in funds under management is being pinned on future international expansion.

Dunstan said the granting of an investment adviser licence in the US and being appointed sub-adviser to RMR Asia Pacific Real Estate Fund in Singapore are key planks to this growth.

“It is planned to list the MacarthurCook Property Securities Fund on the Singapore Stock Exchange, which is the start of the international expansion of the business,” he said.

The fund manager is also tipping expanding its distribution base, which will attract more investors to its funds. Currently, MacarthurCook has more than 15,000 investors.

The fund manager has declared a fully franked final dividend of 1.5 cents a share, which is up on the 0.5 cents paid as the final 2005 dividend.