Pre-tax profits at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, the fund manager owned by Lloyds TSB, rose 52% last year despite the loss of a high-profile mandate from its own parent's pension fund.
The asset manager made £44m (â¬58.3m) for the year to the end of December. It put the increase down to an expansion of its external business, referring to money it runs for clients other than the Scottish Widows insurance group or the wider Lloyds TSB bank.