Christie Group (AIM:CTG) reported revenue of £36m for the six months to 30 June, up 5.4% from £34.1m a year earlier, as growth across all five trading brands lifted underlying operating profit 11.1% to £2.4m.
The AIM-listed professional services group, which advises the healthcare, hospitality, leisure, medical, childcare and retail sectors through brands including Christie & Co, Pinders, Christie Finance, Christie Insurance and Venners, said operating profit margin improved to 6.6% from 6.3%.
A non-cash, non-recurring £0.4m pension curtailment cost, tied to the closure of the Group's two defined benefit schemes to future accrual, pulled reported operating profit to £2m and profit before tax to £1.5m, down from £2.1m and £1.7m respectively; stripping out that charge, pre-tax profit rose 12.3% to £1.9m.
Cash and cash equivalents climbed to £8.7m from £5m a year earlier, and the board declared an interim dividend of 1.25p, up 67% from 0.75p.
Christie & Co brokered 607 business sales in the period, up 11.2% on 546 a year earlier, worth around £835.3m, while finance brokerage income rose 15% and insurance brokerage income grew 31% with an 87% client renewal rate.
"We continue to anticipate a second-half weighting to our FY26 revenue and a full year performance in line with current market expectations, supported by the strength of the pipelines we carry into H2 and positive ongoing deal momentum," said chief executive Dan Prickett.
The board reiterated its expectation of selling more than 1,000 businesses in 2026 and said market forecasts for the year stand at revenue of £75m and adjusted pre-tax profit of £4.6m.