BRISTOL'S most successful company Hargreaves Lansdown enjoyed another record year last year with profits of almost £90 million.

The stock broker announced a 22 per cent leap in its profits just a day before one of its founders steps down as chief executive.

The incredible success of the firm set up almost 30 years ago is showing no signs of slowing down, even though the joint founders are in the process of handing over control to a new team of directors.

As reported in the Evening Post, Peter Hargreaves is standing down as chief executive from today and his partner – Bristol City chairman Steve Lansdown – has relinquished his role as an executive director of the company.

The firm, which recently moved to a brand new £37m headquarters on the Harbourside, said that it enjoyed "unprecedented" levels of new business and made pre-tax profits of £86.3m over the last 12 months.

The improving fortunes of the stock market and the fact that investors are looking for better ways to invest money with historic low interest rates has helped the firm to ride out the recession in style.

The firm dealt with funds worth a staggering £3.3 billion last year – an increase of 65 per cent.

The two men who set up the firm in a Clifton bedroom own more than half of the company between them and are now two of the richest men in the South West, with a combined personal fortune approaching £1bn.

Mr Hargreaves admitted yesterday that at the start of the financial year he feared the worst. He added: "Turning the clock back 12 months we entered this year with more trepidation than for many years.

"The Government were doing the only thing they knew; trying to spend us out of our problems. Interest rates were historically low and the recession was a constant worry.

"The stock market was 33 per cent lower than it had been at the turn of the millennium, and doom and gloom abounded."

Mr Hargreaves said the unprecedented levels of new business and the healthy condition of the stock market were the major factors behind his firm's continued success.

He added: "There are many things that encourage us for the coming year. We are very proud of our new office. I suspect the problems that we can foresee at the moment are less critical than the ones we envisaged a year ago.

"At that time we faced a significant loss of income through lower interest rates, and the office move was in front of us. Today we are completely settled in our new home and we have found recruitment not only easier than ever before, but the quality of our recruits is excellent."

Talking about stepping down as chief executive, he said: "I am delighted to hand on the role to the very safe pair of hands of Ian Gorham. It is also gratifying to know that right throughout the firm every senior position is covered by at least one very able understudy."

Mr Hargreaves said: "I have enjoyed being chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown over the years. The business is my life's work and the only thing I can do now is to assure both clients and investors that I have not handed on this position lightly.

"Ian Gorham is, I believe, the right man for this job. Indeed the business has changed so much that it now needs different skills, ones that Ian possesses in abundance.

"I must thank everyone in the firm who has worked with me over the years and helped make Hargreaves Lansdown the successful and prosperous business it is today.

"I shall remain as a director, although I will be reducing my workload to three to four days a week. My passion has always been in ensuring client literature and marketing initiatives are the best they could possibly be; therefore my focus will be to ensure we keep the highest possible standards in these important areas."