Arbuthnot Latham’s parent has said it is pleased to have turned a small profit in the first half of the year, despite “exceptional” challenges posed by Covid-19 and the historically low interest rate.

Arbuthnot Banking Group – the holding company for Arbuthnot Latham – returned a profit of £200,000 in the six months to 30 June 2020, a 93 percent reduction on the £2.9 million posted for the same period in 2019.

Bank of England rate reductions had cost the bank £2.7 million over the period, and Arbuthnot chairman and chief executive Sir Henry Angest said this would remain “an impediment to the medium term p...