Profits plunge at C Hoare & Co, Britain's oldest bank

London- Alsharq Tribune- Sarah Benkraouda 

Britain's oldest private bank has seen profits slump and has warned Donald Trump's tariffs have left the outlook for the UK economy 'increasingly subdued'.

C Hoare & Co, founded in 1672, posted a £63.7 million pre-tax profit for the year to March 2025, down from £80.8 million the year before, according to its most recent accounts. Total income fell to £249 million from £272 million.

The bank blamed interest rates, which fell from 5.25 to 4.5 per cent in the period, meaning less money from loans, as well as its customers moving to 'higher-paying' sources of returns.

It came despite total customer deposits at the bank rising 5.4 per cent to £6.4 billion and a 6.5 per cent rise in lending to £2.4 billion.

Chairman Lord Macpherson, a former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, said the coming year looked uncertain, as the UK had 'yet to break out of its low productivity-low growth cycle'.

The bank said US tariffs had seen 'unprecedented disruption' to global trade and supply chains too and it was 'futile' to try to predict the final levies on imports.

Based on Fleet Street, Hoare's is the world's oldest family-owned bank, with eight members of the Hoare lineage, including Venetia Hoare as partners. Clients include some of Britain's largest landowning families.