Evolution pays maiden dividend

MINI-investment bank Evolution Group is to pay its first-ever dividend after bouncing back strongly into the black. A flurry of deals and floats and the return of the small investor helped the group turn a 2002 loss of £23.8m into a 2003 profit of £17.9m.

The dividend is 0.25p and house broker Brewin Dolphin is predicting a doubling to 0.5p this year.