AJ Bell has reported revenue growth of 19% in the six months to 31 March, totalling £183m.

The investment platform also recorded a 15% year-on-year increase in its profit before tax, reaching £79m in this period.

The firm said that this growth reflected increased investment in brand and proposition, which drove record business growth.

Across this period, AJ Bell saw strong growth in customer numbers, with a record 79,000 added across the year, marking a 12% increase to 723,000 customers.

Furthermore, its platform assets under administration (AUA) jumped by 5% to £108.7bn, driven by net inflows of £4.2bn and favourable market movements of £1.2bn.

In its investment business, its assets under management increased by 10% to £9.8bn.

The results come after the investment firm sold its platinum SIPP and SSAS business in November, resulting in £3.3bn in non-platform AUA transferring to InvestAcc Group.

Chief executive officer at AJ Bell, Michael Summersgill, described the figures as an "excellent set of first-half results".

He stated: "This performance clearly demonstrates the delivery of our strategy, as we reinvest the benefits of our scale and operational gearing into our brand, marketing capabilities and products, driving continued market share gains.

"Our strong financial position enables us to continue investing for growth while also increasing returns to shareholders, demonstrated by an 11% increase in the interim dividend and an additional share buyback programme of up to £15m.

"We have continually invested in our hybrid technology model, focused on delivering easy to use products on a scalable platform. As AI becomes increasingly important across the industry, we see it as an enabler to develop our platform, operations and customer interactions."

In its outlook, AJ Bell stated that the UK platform market "continues to present significant structural growth opportunities", with an estimated £2.4trn being held off platform.

It now expects its full-year revenue margin and profit before tax to be higher than previously guided. It added that its "excellent returns" from its investment in brand and marketing gives it confidence to invest more than originally planned in the second half of the year.

It also is anticipating "materially higher profitability".

Summersgill concluded: "The Government's ambition to boost retail investing is encouraging, however in both pension and ISA markets we continue to see complexity and uncertainty.

"The platform market presents significant long term growth opportunities, and our continued business investment positions us well to capitalise on these. We remain confident in the outlook, with strong momentum continuing into the second half of the year."

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