Intermediate Capital Group H1 assets up 17 pct on record inflows

* Assets under management up 17 pct to 33.6 bln euros

* Raised record 6.1 bln eur in six months to end-September

* Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) up 8.8 pct, leading the mid-cap index (Adds detail from statement, CEO quote, share reaction, bullet points)

By Simon Jessop

LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - British asset manager Intermediate Capital Group (ICG (LSE: 138026.L - news) ) on Thursday posted a 17 percent increase in first-half assets on the back of strong inflows of new money from clients, sending its shares higher.

ICG, which invests across a range of assets including credit, real estate and infrastructure, has seen increasing demand from investors given weaker returns on offer in more traditional financial markets.

Total (LSE: 524773.L - news) assets at the end of September were 33.6 billion euros ($38.08 billion), buoyed by a record 6.1 billion euros in net inflows, underpinning group pretax profit of 124 million pounds and an interim dividend of 10 pence, up 11.1 percent.

"Our business is more robust than at any time in its history," Kevin Parry, Chairman of ICG, said in a statement.

Shares in ICG were up 8.8 percent at 0810 GMT, leading gainers in the FTSE mid-cap index.

"For us, (ICG) remains our preferred asset manager in the UK given that its strategies are at the right end of industry allocations and has strong visibility of fees," analysts at Jefferies said in a note to clients, flagging a 'buy' rating. ($1 = 0.8823 euros) (Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by Sinead Cruise)