During the first half of 2008 we delivered another strong financial performance whilst continuing to invest in the business. Our revenues for the first six months of the year have increased by £60 million to £250.5 million (2007: £190.5 million) with Net Fee Income improving by £10.6 million to £34.0 million (2007: £23.4 million) an increase of 45.5%. Operating profit for the period has improved by 110% to £3.3 million (2007: £1.6 million), with PBT up 51.6% to £3.4 million (2007: £2.2 million).

We have seen volume and gross margin improvements across the Group, despite a backdrop of uncertain market sentiment. To date, we have seen little impact on our trading with our Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”) holding up well in the first half.