Aberdeen Asset Management, the UK investment manager, broke through £80bn (€117bn) in assets for the first time during the last six months, but legal and integration costs dragged the company into the red.

Profits before exceptional items were up 16% from a year ago to £43.6m, as revenues rose 10% compared with cost growth of only 7.7%. However, one-off costs including a legal bill and expenses relating to the integration of the Deutsche business resulted in a £22m loss for the half.