Brooks Macdonald and IG Group have both separately announced cost-saving job cuts this morning (31 October) to "streamline" the businesses.

Brooks Macdonald, which has offices in the UK and the crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man, said the circa 55 job cuts were expected to result in an annualised staff cost reduction of around £4m. 

"These changes will not affect the level of service the Group delivers to its clients, nor its footprint of offices across the UK and Crown Dependencies", the statement said.   

The cost of the changes is forecast to be up to £3m, a non-recurring expense which it intends to exclude from its reported underlying profit.  

For its full year 2024 Brooks Macdonald continues to expect overall costs to grow in mid-single digits, in line with existing market expectations.

Andrew Shepherd, CEO of Brooks Macdonald said: "As an ambitious business, we must respond to evolving market dynamics by taking difficult decisions that will regrettably affect some of our colleagues, but make the group stronger."

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Online trading provider IG Group is expecting to reduce headcount by approximately 300 staffers in the coming months, which represents around 10% of the total workforce. 

IG Group said due to its job cuts, alongside other efficiency measures, it expects to deliver full run rate cost savings of £50m per year by 2026, and drive operating margin expansion over the medium term.

The Group anticipates structural savings of £10m by its full year 2024, increasing to £40m in full year 2025, before reaching £50m in 2026. 

During the 2024 financial year, variable costs will be reduced by an additional £10m. This reflects softer market conditions, according to the group, which were disclosed in the first quarter and have continued in the second quarter, providing total savings of £20m this financial year.

Non-recurring costs to achieve the savings are expected to be approximately £18m split across the full year 2024 and 2025.

Charlie Rozes, acting chief executive, said: "We want to position IG Group as a lean fintech company and today's decisive actions ensure a strong platform for future growth. We will continuously evaluate and pursue cost efficiency opportunities to create a more agile and scalable organisation."