Christie Group shares surged on Monday after the professional and financial services group announced bumper preliminary results for 2025.
Christie Group has delivered a standout year, with operating profit from continuing operations almost doubling and the board hiking the final dividend 57% to reflect what it called a transformative period for the business.
Revenue from continuing operations jumped 19.2% to £70.6m, comfortably ahead of board expectations, with an unexpectedly strong burst of deal completions in the final weeks of the year pulling forward activity originally pencilled in for early 2026.
Operating profit surged 95.5% to £6.9m, lifting margins from 5.9% to 9.7% in a step change that management said demonstrates the operational gearing now embedded in the business and a clear path towards margins above 10%.
Earnings per share from continuing operations rose 87.9% to 19.37p, and the full-year dividend increased to 3.50p from 2.25p, with the 57% uplift in the final payout signalling the board’s confidence in the outlook.
Investors were evidently delighted with the group’s financial performance, and shares were 25% higher at the time of writing on Monday.
The group enjoyed growth across all business divisions during the period, but the Professional & Financial Services division was the engine room, with sales rising to £59.6m
Christie & Co, the business brokerage and service, which is celebrating its 90th year, produced record fee income after the average brokerage fee on business sales climbed 26%, even as volumes held broadly steady at 1,164 transactions worth nearly £2bn.
European operations grew fee income 37%, with a record year in France and notable wins including the sale of the Vienna Marriott. Valuations surged 63% to nearly 8,000 units, covering £14.5bn of assets, boosted by major pub estate mandates from Marston’s and Greene King. Christie Finance grew fee income 15% and secured £292m of debt for clients, up 38%.
The insurance arm also contributed, with the renewal book growing 23% in value and client retention rising to 87%.
The Stock & Inventory division delivered a steadier 5.4% revenue increase to £11.0m, returning to profitability with an operating profit of £0.75m.
Dan Prickett, Chief Executive of Christie Group, said, “We are delighted to report an excellent set of results for 2025 which illustrate the strong progress we have made during the year. We outperformed original expectations quite substantially, in part due to exceptionally strong deal flow in Q4. We sold 1,164 businesses in the year with a total value nearing £2.0bn – up 45% year on year – while also boosting our average brokerage fee by 26%.”
“After driving strong growth over the year alongside strategic divestments, the Group is now well positioned to deliver on our strategic objectives in the years ahead as we focus on driving revenue and earnings growth from our continuing operations, strengthening our balance sheet further and delivering enhanced value for our clients, staff and shareholders.”
Strategically, the group has now shed both of its persistent loss-makers, Orridge and Vennersys, sharpening focus on higher-margin operations. The disposals, combined with strong trading, lifted the net cash position to £9.4m from £4.9m a year earlier, with zero external borrowings.
Looking ahead, the UK transactional pipeline stood 9.6% higher at the start of 2026 than a year earlier, with instruction levels remaining robust through the first quarter. International and finance brokerage pipelines are also ahead.
“While still relatively early in the new financial year, momentum in 2026 has been encouraging,” Dan Prickett said.
“As a result, absent of disruption from the current geopolitical backdrop, we remain confident in delivering another year of positive progress and achieving our third consecutive year of selling over 1,000 businesses.”