SIPP provider Embark Services Limited (ESL), which uses the Embark and Hornbuckle brands, saw a 15.3% rise in client numbers in the year ended in December.

Pre-tax trading profit was also up from £0.14m in 2017 to £0.29m in 2018, in annual results reported this week.
 
ESL, part of the retirement-focused Embark Group, says it is transitioning from its origins as a full SIPP and SSAS administrator to becoming a wider provider of “digitally-executed retirement services.”

The company said it saw progress toward this goal in 2018 with growth in digital business although it also saw a decline in “complex pension products.” The result was a net increase of 2,028 in scheme numbers for the year.
 
ESL uses the FNZ platform for its services and it says this has helped reduce costs.
 
The firm says trading for Q1 2019 continues to show progress with client growth and profit performance. It has recently added new partnerships, such as providing a digital SIPP proposition for private bank RBS Coutts.
 
Paul Downing, managing director of Embark Services Limited, said: “2018 was a solid year for the business. Our diversification strategy continues to be a primary driver of our performance and we see this progressively accelerating across the medium term.”
 
Phil Smith, group CEO of the Embark Group, says: “We are very pleased with the progressive performance improvements and underlying growth at Embark Services Limited. It remains a cornerstone of the Embark strategy.”

Embark Group brands include Vested, Rowanmoor, EBS, The Adviser Centre, Discus, Hornbuckle and Liberty SIPP.