The management team that bought Davy Stockbrokers from Bank of Ireland has set a target of doubling the firm's annual pre-tax profits to €100 million within five years, according to chief executive Tony Garry. Arthur Beesley, Senior Business Correspondent, reports.

Interviewed today in Business This Week, Mr Garry reveals that the private clients unit at Davy is now contributing half the profits at the dominant brokerage in the Irish market.

The company made pre-tax profits of €45 million on a turnover in excess of €150 million in the year to March 2005, he says.

"Most companies, when you say what do you hope to do in the next five years, you'd say you'd like to double pre-tax. In that context, €100 million sounds like a nice figure in terms of a four or five-year timespan."

As many as 110 of Davy's 470 staff took a stake in the business when a management team led by Mr Garry, chairman Brian Davy and capital markets head Kyran McLoughlin acquired the business from Bank of Ireland two months ago. In a transaction that valued Davy at €350 million, the group paid €316.55 million for the 90.44 per cent of the Davy that was not already held by the firm's board.

Mr Garry says the price was "fair", adding that the group paid more than it wanted to while the bank received less than it sought.

He says the management team has no plan to sell the firm on after a period. "There's been some chat around: 'Oh, they've bought it so they can flip it'. We've been quite categorical on this. We bought it so we can own it and take it forward ourselves and operate in an ownership, partnership environment."

He also says that Davy should receive the largest interest in the Irish Stock Exchange should its ownership structure be changed, a position that is in conflict with smaller members of the exchange.

"We're the largest, I think we should get the largest share," he says.

While there is "more momentum" in the private clients division than other parts of the business, he says also that there is plenty scope for growth on the institutional side of the business.