Investment management group Abrdn is set to return to the FTSE 100, according to analysts at Global Capital Markets. The company was heavily penalised for its poor performance in the first quarter of last year, but has since turned around their fortunes and saw a surge in share prices of more than ten percent during the second quarter, which propelled them from 103rd place all the way back to 94th place in just three months.

The firm increased the size of its assets under management by a third to £12.6 billion in the three months to the end of June, meaning that its assets are now worth £1 billion more than they were at the time of the merger with Balton Investments in January 2010. However, it is still dwarfed by rivals JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

‘This was a great three months for Abrdn,’ said Richard Gillott, chairman of the firm. ‘We’ve seen a significant boost in the size and profitability of our company through new investor accounts, and on top that we’re now a more attractive prospect for potential buyers. We are currently exploring all avenues to build on our recent good performance, and hope to make an announcement very soon. We would also like to thank our loyal clients for their support over the last few months.’

Sir Bryan Forster, chief executive officer of Abrdn, refused to give any indication of the type of business he is looking at buying, but made sure that the company’s success was acknowledged by those who had doubted it.

‘Despite our recent growth, this was an extremely challenging financial sector in which to do business,’ he said. ‘I would like to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge the efforts of those in Abrdn’s back office to get us out of the woods in the first quarter, and those of our shareholders who stood by us through that difficult time. Here at the beginning of our second quarter, I have every confidence that we will continue to deliver strong numbers and performances.’ More Business Insights: https://www.ft.com/stream/49062ebd-3093-415a-bef9-9df709db516c