Bristol stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown has seen its assets under administration jump 22 per cent in the first quarter of its financial year.

Total assets under administration stood at £14.5bn at September 30, compared to £11.9bn at the end of June.

The Clifton firm has also reported a 22 per cent rise in the assets held within its Vantage supermarket, which matches investors with products, from £10.7bn to £13.1bn.

The number of clients on its direct-to-private investor platform also rose from 276,000 to 284,000 in the past three months. Hargreaves Lansdown has also seen its assets rise within its portfolio management service and its multi-manager range, with the combined assets rising from £1.4bn to £1.7bn.

Chief executive Peter Hargreaves, who started the firm with Bristol City chairman Steve Lansdown said: "The rise in stock markets throughout the world has made a huge impact on the value of assets under our administration.

"This, together with unusually high income during the summer months, has produced a gratifying boost to group income.

"Although we are impacted by the decline in the margin we make on cash deposits, our primary business of gathering assets together with the rise in stock markets has more than compensated for this loss of income.

"Another boost to profits from October 2009 will hopefully come from the increased ISA allowances for investors aged over 50 which represent the predominance of our Vantage clients.

"Whilst we are justifiably proud of the results of our first three-month trading period, we are under no illusions that the level of the stock market and investor confidence will still have a significant part to play during the remainder of our financial year."

In January, the firm will transfer all of its 600 staff from Clifton to a new £20 million HQ building on Bristol's Harbourside.