(Bloomberg) -- Peel Hunt’s investment banking unit reported record results in the six months to Sept. 28 as the exit from lockdown boosted market confidence and the broker grew its client roster.

Revenue at the division rose 43% to 32.7 million pounds ($44 million), with investment banking fees up almost half, the company said in a statement Wednesday. That’s its strongest half-year on record.

“We continue to grow our number of retained investment banking clients and have a healthy deal pipeline with a strong balance of transactions,” Chief Executive Officer Steven Fine said in the statement. “We’re well positioned to execute our growth plans, which include opening an European office.”

The firm’s research operations grew by 3.5% and revenue at its execution and trading operations more than halved to 24 million pounds, reflecting an expected normalization from the heightened trading volumes seen at the onset of the pandemic.

The firm returned to London’s Alternative Investment Market at the end of September, more than two decades after it was first floated. It currently has 162 corporate clients, with an average market value of around 775 million pounds.

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