Alternative and real assets manager Gresham House saw operating profits rocket more than ten-fold in the first half of 2019, from just £400,000 to £4.4 million as the company began to scale up its business.

Client assets rose 8.1% over the six months to the end of June, from £2.2 billion to £2.4 billion, as it raised £50 million for the Gresham House Energy Storage trust, £25 million in VCT funding and £94 million in forestry funds.

Chief executive Tony Dalwood said: ‘We have made significant progress developing our platform, including enhanced capability within sales and distribution.

‘Our focus on alternative asset management remains increasingly of interest as allocations to these areas continue to build.’

The house, formerly a private equity trust, converted to become an alternative and real asset specialist manager in 2014. The latter has been a key area of growth in active fund management in recent years, with majors such as Schroders identifying it as a key driver of future client interest.

Total income for the first half of the year grew by 209% to £15.3 million