Christie Group raised its interim dividend by two-thirds after a solid first half, as its business brokerage, finance and insurance arms drove growth.
The professional services group, which advises on the sale and valuation of businesses in sectors such as hospitality, healthcare and childcare, said revenue rose 5.4% to £36m in the six months to 30 June, with all five of its trading brands growing.
Underlying operating profit, before a one-off, non-cash pension charge, climbed 11.1% to £2.4m, and its cash balance strengthened to £8.7m from £5.0m.
Christie Group shares have had a stellar 2026 year-to-date, rising over 40%, and Monday’s drop looks more like a minor bout of profit-taking than a reaction to the results.
Indeed, Christie’s numbers offered plenty to be impressed by.
Growth was led by its finance and insurance broking businesses, with fee income up 15% and 31% respectively, while the number of businesses it sold rose 11% to 607. Its hospitality stock-audit arm managed only modest growth against a tough backdrop for that sector.
The main attraction for investors will be that the company lifted its interim dividend 67% to 1.25p, reflecting its momentum and the completion of the sale of a loss-making software business earlier in the year.
It kept its full-year expectations unchanged, pointing to strong pipelines going into the second half, and again expects to broker the sale of more than 1,000 businesses over the year.
Dan Prickett, Chief Executive, said: “The Group’s first half results build on an exceptionally strong year of growth in FY25 and demonstrate continued progress and momentum across the Group’s brands and geographies.
“Demand for our broad range of services – driven by ongoing investor and lender appetite for our specialist sectors – has remained resilient despite domestic and geopolitical uncertainty. This illustrates the sound long-term fundamentals which underpin the sectors in which we choose to specialise and the quality, dedication and energy of our teams who consistently deliver successful outcomes for our clients.
“In acknowledgement of this continued momentum and our confidence in the long-term outlook, the Board has recommended an interim dividend of 1.25p, up 67%. At the same time as increasing shareholder distributions, our strong profit growth and cash generation enables us to continue to invest in attracting and retaining the strongest talent to support our growth ambitions, both in the UK and internationally.”