UK -  Nicola Horlick's Bramdean Asset Management has made a loss of £3.75m in its first 18 months, prompting its auditors to raise doubts about the firm's stability.

The company's statutory accounts for the 18 months to March 2006, filed at Companies House, show the company made a £3.75m loss since its launch in 2005.

Auditor BDO Stoy Hayward said in its report: "These conditions indicate the existence of material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the Partnership's ability to continue as a going concern."

However, the auditor added its opinion of the financial statements is "not qualified".

Bramdean expects to make a smaller loss this year before turning a profit in 2008.

The firm's head of wealth management, Amanda McCrystal claims the losses were entirely anticipated and Bramdean has moved on significantly since handing it its accounts.

In an interview with IPE, McCrystal commented: "We and our backers are entirely happy, and we are entirely in line with our expectations."

The company, which is backed by private investors and has around £440m of assets under management, is pursuing a business based on the provision of a multi-manager product for institutional and private clients as well as the provision of advice to institutional clients.

"The multi-manager structure is the ideal response to a market which is polarising into either niche or very large businesses,"  Horlick said at the time of the launch.