A surge in inflows at Interactive Investor helped wealth firm Aberdeen post higher profit in the first half of the year, as the group leaned more heavily on its platform business to offset weakness elsewhere.

The investment platform signed up tens of thousands of new customers, lifting customer numbers by 14 per cent to 525,000 over the period, as the firm gained ground in the battle to become the country’s biggest wealth manager.

Interactive Investor recorded net inflows of £6.8bn, which largely offset outflows in Aberdeen’s Adviser and Investments businesses. That mix matters for Aberdeen because it shows how the group’s growth is increasingly being driven by client activity on the platform, even as its broader business remains exposed to money leaving other parts of the company.

Total pre-tax profit rose two per cent to £276m. Aberdeen’s adjusted pre-tax profit increased by 11 per cent, which was 8 per cent above analysts’ consensus, according to figures from Cavendish.

“Looking ahead, we see substantial headroom for further growth across the business,” said chief executive Jason Windsor.

Nick Sherrard, managing director of finance consultancy Label Sessions, said growth at Interactive Investor “answers some of the critics. But it doesn’t answer the bigger question: what is this company now?

“Is this an asset manager with a platform attached, or a wealth business carrying an asset manager? That’s much less about branding and more about the company’s overall proposition.

“There is a genuinely valuable company to build here. Delivering wealth, advice, and investing as one connected service requires Aberdeen to decide what it is. It can then begin to land that message with customers and markets alike, accepting what that means for the parts of the business that no longer fit.”

Aberdeen shares have risen by almost 20 per cent since the start of the year.