IG Group
asked shareholders to approve a new parent company based in Jersey, a move the
FTSE 100 trading firm says will give it more room to maneuver as it weighs
bigger changes to its shape and where its shares trade.
The
proposal came today (Wednesday) alongside a trading update showing revenue for
the six months through June rose about 18% to roughly £643 million.
Both
announcements flow from the strategic review IG launched in
March, which is
still running and is due to report back in the autumn.
Jersey Structure Adds
Options IG Says It Won't Use Yet
Under the
plan, IG Group Holdings would sit beneath a new Jersey-incorporated holding
company, with investors swapping their existing shares one-for-one.
The
reshuffle would run through a court-approved scheme of arrangement and needs
sign-off from the Financial Conduct Authority and other regulators. IG expects
it to take effect in the final quarter of 2026, with a shareholder circular due
in the third.
The company
was at pains to stress what would not change. Its shares would stay on the
London Stock Exchange and keep their index eligibility, the group would remain
UK tax resident with no change to its effective tax rate, and its London
offices and employees would carry on as before.
IG said the
new structure would give it greater financial flexibility and better reflect a
business that now earns around two-thirds of its revenue outside the UK.
What the
firm did not spell out is where that flexibility might lead. A Jersey topco is
a common step for London-listed companies that later want to shift their
primary listing or pursue deals, and IG has already floated both.
Bloomberg
reported in March that the group was weighing a move to New York, and Wednesday's statement again
listed potential changes to its listing venues and "combinations of parts
of the Group with other industry participants" as options on the table.
London's Listed Brokers
Weigh Where to Trade
IG is not
alone in fielding questions about its listing and valuation. Plus500, its
closest London-listed peer, publicly explored a US listing as far back as 2023
and has leaned on capital returns to keep shareholders onside, running a $100
million buyback this year as it told investors 2026 revenue and EBITDA would
come in above market forecasts.
CMC Markets
has taken a similar route, funding repeated buybacks while pushing beyond
contracts for difference into stockbroking and other non-OTC lines.
That
expansion into cash equities
Equities
Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa
Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa
Read this Term and investing has become a shared theme across the
cohort, with both Plus500 and IG chasing US
futures revenue
through acquisitions rather than building from scratch.
Regional Divisions Fold
into One Consumer Unit
IG is also
redrawing its org chart. Three regional arms covering the UK and Ireland,
Europe, and Asia-Pacific and the Middle East will merge into a single consumer
division led by Michael Healy, who becomes CEO of IG Consumer.
Customer-facing
technology, operations and the recently acquired crypto exchange
Exchange
An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv
An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv
Read this Term Independent
Reserve fold into that unit, as does the neobroker Freetrade.
North
America and the institutional business stay separate. Michael Vaughan keeps his
role running IG North America, while Andy Biggs takes over a rebranded
institutional arm as CEO of IG Securities.
The changes
take effect in the second half of 2026, and IG said its reporting format for
the current half is unchanged.
The
reshuffle follows an annual report that flagged rising
staff turnover and negative morale scores even as revenue hit records, a gap between
management's high-performance framing and colleague sentiment that IG has said
it is tracking through monthly surveys.
Reported Growth Outpaces
Organic Gains
The trading
update carried the sort of headline growth rates that reward a closer look.
First trades jumped about 107% on a reported basis, but stripped of
acquisitions the organic figure was 74%.
The spread
was wider for customers: active customer numbers rose roughly 66% as reported,
and just 13% organically, a reminder that much of the top-line momentum came from
bolting on Freetrade and Independent Reserve rather than from IG's existing
platforms.
Metric (H1 2026, unaudited) | Reported change | Organic change |
Total revenue (about £643m) | +18% | +16% |
First trades | +107% | +74% |
Active customers | +66% | +13% |
The group
reiterated the full-year guidance it upgraded in May, when first-quarter organic revenue
climbed 19%.
It still
expects organic revenue excluding Freetrade and Independent Reserve to grow 10%
to 15% this year off a 2025 base of about £1.1 billion, with EBITDA margins in
the mid-40s percent range and net interest income of £110 million to £120
million.
Full
interim results, and any more detail on the Jersey plan, are due on July 31.
IG Group
asked shareholders to approve a new parent company based in Jersey, a move the
FTSE 100 trading firm says will give it more room to maneuver as it weighs
bigger changes to its shape and where its shares trade.
The
proposal came today (Wednesday) alongside a trading update showing revenue for
the six months through June rose about 18% to roughly £643 million.
Both
announcements flow from the strategic review IG launched in
March, which is
still running and is due to report back in the autumn.
Jersey Structure Adds
Options IG Says It Won't Use Yet
Under the
plan, IG Group Holdings would sit beneath a new Jersey-incorporated holding
company, with investors swapping their existing shares one-for-one.
The
reshuffle would run through a court-approved scheme of arrangement and needs
sign-off from the Financial Conduct Authority and other regulators. IG expects
it to take effect in the final quarter of 2026, with a shareholder circular due
in the third.
The company
was at pains to stress what would not change. Its shares would stay on the
London Stock Exchange and keep their index eligibility, the group would remain
UK tax resident with no change to its effective tax rate, and its London
offices and employees would carry on as before.
IG said the
new structure would give it greater financial flexibility and better reflect a
business that now earns around two-thirds of its revenue outside the UK.
What the
firm did not spell out is where that flexibility might lead. A Jersey topco is
a common step for London-listed companies that later want to shift their
primary listing or pursue deals, and IG has already floated both.
Bloomberg
reported in March that the group was weighing a move to New York, and Wednesday's statement again
listed potential changes to its listing venues and "combinations of parts
of the Group with other industry participants" as options on the table.
London's Listed Brokers
Weigh Where to Trade
IG is not
alone in fielding questions about its listing and valuation. Plus500, its
closest London-listed peer, publicly explored a US listing as far back as 2023
and has leaned on capital returns to keep shareholders onside, running a $100
million buyback this year as it told investors 2026 revenue and EBITDA would
come in above market forecasts.
CMC Markets
has taken a similar route, funding repeated buybacks while pushing beyond
contracts for difference into stockbroking and other non-OTC lines.
That
expansion into cash equities
Equities
Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa
Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa
Read this Term and investing has become a shared theme across the
cohort, with both Plus500 and IG chasing US
futures revenue
through acquisitions rather than building from scratch.
Regional Divisions Fold
into One Consumer Unit
IG is also
redrawing its org chart. Three regional arms covering the UK and Ireland,
Europe, and Asia-Pacific and the Middle East will merge into a single consumer
division led by Michael Healy, who becomes CEO of IG Consumer.
Customer-facing
technology, operations and the recently acquired crypto exchange
Exchange
An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv
An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv
Read this Term Independent
Reserve fold into that unit, as does the neobroker Freetrade.
North
America and the institutional business stay separate. Michael Vaughan keeps his
role running IG North America, while Andy Biggs takes over a rebranded
institutional arm as CEO of IG Securities.
The changes
take effect in the second half of 2026, and IG said its reporting format for
the current half is unchanged.
The
reshuffle follows an annual report that flagged rising
staff turnover and negative morale scores even as revenue hit records, a gap between
management's high-performance framing and colleague sentiment that IG has said
it is tracking through monthly surveys.
Reported Growth Outpaces
Organic Gains
The trading
update carried the sort of headline growth rates that reward a closer look.
First trades jumped about 107% on a reported basis, but stripped of
acquisitions the organic figure was 74%.
The spread
was wider for customers: active customer numbers rose roughly 66% as reported,
and just 13% organically, a reminder that much of the top-line momentum came from
bolting on Freetrade and Independent Reserve rather than from IG's existing
platforms.
Metric (H1 2026, unaudited) | Reported change | Organic change |
Total revenue (about £643m) | +18% | +16% |
First trades | +107% | +74% |
Active customers | +66% | +13% |
The group
reiterated the full-year guidance it upgraded in May, when first-quarter organic revenue
climbed 19%.
It still
expects organic revenue excluding Freetrade and Independent Reserve to grow 10%
to 15% this year off a 2025 base of about £1.1 billion, with EBITDA margins in
the mid-40s percent range and net interest income of £110 million to £120
million.
Full
interim results, and any more detail on the Jersey plan, are due on July 31.
