Sir Angus Grossart's merchant bank, Noble Grossart, has reported another "steady profit performance" for the year despite seeing fee income drop by 42% from £5.52m to £2.22m.

Sir Angus Grossart's merchant bank, Noble Grossart, has reported another "steady profit performance" for the year despite seeing fee income drop by 42% from £5.52m to £2.22m.

The fall in one key area was once again offset by a rise in another, with dividend income jumping from £2.59m to £5.67m, to enable the group to report a rise in pre-tax profit from £7.64m to £8.11m.

In his chairman's statement last year (the opportunity was passed over this year), Sir Angus cited a "growing acceptance by many that strong, independent financial advice and service inevitably flourish where the client's interest is made paramount and where advice is not used as a convenient drawbridge for other services".

The dividend is raised from £13 to £14, triggering a pay-out to dominant shareholder Sir Angus of £1.14m, and to director Ewan Brown of £228,200. The highest-paid director, assumed to be Sir Angus, saw his remuneration rise from £462,000 to £479,000.

The bank closed its treasury operations during the year, according to the report and accounts for 2006 lodged at Companies House, after concluding that "although modestly profitable, the returns were not commensurate with the capital and staff commitment involved".

The merchant bank's fees and commissions came in at £8.7m in 2004, and when they dropped to £4m in 2006 the bank's unbroken run of increasing profit was only preserved through items such as lower salaries and a release of provisions.

Last year the main boost came from unlisted investments, where equity shares rose in value from £1.81m to £4.41m.

The group holds stakes of between 25% and 50% in 11 unlisted companies, including 30% of bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, 40% of Wright Health Group, which makes and distributes dental products, and 29% of the Fine Art Society. Alexander Dennis is shown as recording a £4.9m loss.

The online business ser- vice Scotland on Line incurred a loss of £765,000, but the other companies were all in profit.