Davy’s UK unit swung into profit last year, as its staff expenses declined even after booking £1.3 million (€1.5 million) of redundancy costs as it laid off 10 staff in its capital markets business in London.
J&E Davy (UK), which covers operations in London and Belfast, reported an £84,350 profit in 2025, compared to a loss of £2.73 million for the previous year, according to newly filed accounts with the UK Companies Office.
Staff costs declined to £8.85 million from £9.12 million for 2025, even after the once-off restructuring costs were included, according to the company, which is registered in Belfast. The return to profit was driven by declines in impairment and amortisation charges against intangible assets, professional fees and other unspecified staff costs.
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The company ended the year with 83 staff. The wider Davy Group employs more than 900, and its wealth management business has more than €29 billion of client assets under management, according to its website.
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Davy Group injected £3 million of capital into the UK unit last year, bringing its total shareholder funds to £15.4 million. It is understood that this was a case of prudent capital management, as the company’s reserves were already well in excess of regulatory requirements.
“London and Belfast, alongside Dublin and our regional offices, have contributed to substantial growth in our wealth management business over recent years,” said a Davy spokesman, which was acquired by Bank of Ireland in 2022.
The results of the UK division only give an insight into the financial performance of a sliver of the wider Davy Group, which does not publish annual results because it is registered as an unlimited company called J&E Davy Unlimited.
Information on Davy in Bank of Ireland’s annual and interim reports is also limited. However, a regulatory filing, known as a Pillar 3 statement, shows that its retained earnings rose to €211 million as of the end of 2025 from €192 million a year earlier – a difference of €19 million.
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The company’s total capital resources stood at €229 million at the end of the period, while total shareholders’ equity amounted to €262 million.
Bank of Ireland appointed senior group executive Gavin Kelly chief executive of Davy in 2024 as it established a new division, Wealth and Insurance, over Davy and the group’s New Ireland life and pensions business. Kelly leads the wider division.
It underscored how the bank has taken greater control over the business than in the period between 1988 and 2006, when it had held a majority stake in Davy, but the firm had enjoyed a high degree of autonomy.
