VSA Capital, the third stockbroking firm built up by Andrew Monk, has seen its losses rise from £600,000 to just over £800,000 in the last six months.
But Monk, who created and sold both Blue Oar and Oriel Securities, is undeterred. He said that just as happened last year, he expects the broker to handle at least one major transaction during the second half which should push it back into the black.
The firm is still waiting to be approved as a nominated adviser under the AIM junior stock market rules, and said this was taking longer than it had expected.
It has also recently been given permission to start trading in shares.
But Monk still reckons that market conditions remain the worst he has seen during his 30 years in the broking business.
Turnover for the first half was stable at £440,000.
Monk said: “Current trading appears to be picking up, albeit at a slow rate.
“There appears to still be reluctance amongst institutional investors to invest and, although we have good deal flow, completing transactions is not easy and we have seen slippage in timetables.
“We are engaged on some significant transactions and so we remain confident about the future,” he added.
