In its sixth consecutive year of profit growth, Openwork also grew its volume of mortgage lending 21.6% to £13.5bn to December 2017.
The adviser network also reported recurring and repeatable income up 35% to £173.5m, representing 49% of the total.
The number of Openwork staff supporting these advisers increased from 438 to 481.
CEO Mark Duckworth (pictured) said: “I would like to thank everyone who has helped make 2017 a record year for Openwork, especially our dedicated advisers, staff and management.
“Openwork has a clear offering – providing holistic financial planning to clients throughout their lives via our wealth, mortgage and protection channels, as well as our subsidiary fund management and platform propositions.”
On strategy, Duckworth said: “In April 2018, we became an independent business owned by our partners and staff, and the building blocks of our company have been constructed and implemented over recent years.”
“It remains the case that, in overall terms, the UK population is under served for financial advice. The UK has an ageing population which is increasingly being asked to make provision for its own financial security and requirements. This shift to personal responsibility, coupled with a complex set of choices and rules for individuals and families, inevitably leads to an increased demand for more financial advice. Openwork is ideally placed to support that need.”
In April 2018, Openwork confirmed it added 160 mortgage advisers in Q1, the network’s biggest quarterly intake of brokers for eight years.
