RAB Capital, the London-listed hedge fund manager, has more than doubled its interim pre-tax profits and created the role of chief operating officer to help manage its growth.

The firm has reported pre-tax profits of £5.1m (€7.4m) for the first six months of 2005, compared with £2.1m for the six months to June 2004. It has signalled its confidence that profits will continue to grow by increasing its interim dividend by 50%, to 15p a share.