Brave Bison has posted a strong FY25 set of results, with growth across revenue, profit and earnings per share, plus an upgraded outlook for FY26. For retail investors, the headline is simple: the business is getting bigger quickly, it beat market expectations, and management thinks current forecasts for 2026 are too low.
That said, this is not a perfectly clean story. Statutory profit before tax dropped sharply because the group completed five acquisitions in one year, which brought a hefty bill for deal costs, restructuring and amortisation. So the investment case still hinges on one big question – can Brave Bison keep integrating these deals well enough to turn rapid growth into durable profit growth?
Brave Bison FY25 results beat consensus with 60% net revenue growth
The best way to read these numbers is to focus first on net revenue rather than turnover. Turnover, or billings, includes pass-through costs such as media spend, while net revenue is closer to the value Brave Bison actually keeps from client work and platform income.
| Key metric | FY25 | FY24 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover / Billings | £54.3 million | £32.8 million | +65% |
| Net revenue | £34.1 million | £21.3 million | +60% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | £6.8 million | £4.5 million | +51% |
| Adjusted profit before tax | £5.6 million | £3.9 million | +44% |
| Adjusted basic EPS | 6.9p | 6.1p | +15% |
| Net cash | £4.3 million | £7.5 million | -42% |
These figures were ahead of consensus expectations of £33.5 million net revenue, £6.5 million adjusted EBITDA and 6.4p adjusted basic EPS. That matters because the market had already lifted forecasts recently, so Brave Bison has beaten a higher bar, not an easy one.
It also marks a fifth consecutive year of growth in net revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted basic EPS. Net revenue has risen from £4.0 million in FY20 to £34.1 million in FY25, which is eye-catching even allowing for acquisitions.
Why Brave Bison statutory profit fell even though underlying trading improved
This is where investors need to separate the glossy headline from the accounting reality. Brave Bison’s adjusted numbers were strong, but statutory profit before tax fell to £0.7 million from £2.0 million.
The reason is mostly acquisition-related costs. The group booked £2.3 million of acquisition costs, £0.9 million of restructuring and integration costs, and £1.6 million of amortisation of acquired intangibles. Put plainly, buying businesses boosts scale quickly, but it also creates a short-term mess in the reported accounts.
Adjusted EBITDA margin slipped from 21.0% to 19.9%, down 110 basis points. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point, so 110 basis points means 1.1 percentage points. That is a small negative, although management says this was expected because Engage and The Fifth were loss-making when acquired.
There is one encouraging detail here: margin improved from 19.2% in H1 to 20.4% in H2. That suggests integration is starting to do its job.
MiniMBA, MTM and five acquisitions changed the shape of Brave Bison in FY25
FY25 was not just about doing more of the same. Brave Bison bought five businesses: MiniMBA, MTM, Builtvisible, Engage and The Fifth. That has expanded the group from a marketing services business into something broader – training, strategy, insight, sport and entertainment, influencer marketing and SEO.
- MiniMBA contributed £4.5 million of revenue and £0.6 million of profit after acquisition.
- MTM contributed £3.4 million of revenue and £0.2 million of profit.
- Builtvisible contributed £3.1 million of revenue and £0.2 million of profit.
- Engage contributed £5.2 million of revenue and a £0.5 million loss.
- The Fifth contributed £2.2 million of revenue and a £0.1 million loss.
MiniMBA looks especially important. It now forms the centre of a new marketing skills and capabilities practice, giving Brave Bison a route into bigger client relationships at CMO level. That is strategically attractive because training and platform-style revenue can be stickier and more scalable than standard agency work.
There was also strong trading in Sport & Entertainment, including livestream success and growth in YouTube monetisation. Platform revenue rose to £23.8 million from £9.6 million, while platform net revenue rose to £9.6 million from £3.0 million. That is worth watching because platform revenue usually scales better than people-heavy services revenue.
Brave Bison FY26 outlook upgrade points to more growth, but exact numbers are not disclosed
The really punchy part of the RNS is the outlook. The board says FY26 net revenue and adjusted EBITDA are expected to exceed current consensus expectations. Those consensus figures were £44.8 million of net revenue and £9.4 million of adjusted EBITDA. The company did not disclose its own exact upgraded forecasts.
There are a few reasons management sounds confident:
- Q1 FY26 net revenue is expected to increase 58% year-on-year.
- MiniMBA is forecast to grow organically by over 18% in FY26.
- Sport & Entertainment momentum has continued after strong Q4 FY25 livestreamed events.
That is plainly positive. However, the company also flagged that conflict in the Middle East is causing some clients to review spending. That is a reminder that marketing budgets can change quickly when the world gets noisier.
Brave Bison also highlighted its 28% stake in System1 Group plc, announced in March 2026. As at 28 April 2026, it says this strategic investment had an unrealised gain of about £1.7 million. Nice to have, but investors should treat that as a paper gain for now, not operating profit.
Cash, debt and dividend: solid enough, but acquisitions have made the balance sheet busier
Cash generation was better than the profit line might suggest. Brave Bison ended FY25 with £10.5 million of cash and £4.3 million of net cash after debt. Operating cash inflow was £3.2 million, while management highlighted £8.0 million of operating activity inflows in the period narrative.
The group did draw on a new £10 million revolving credit facility, with £6.0 million drawn at year end. So while it remains in net cash, it is not as cash-rich as last year. That is the trade-off from an acquisition-heavy year.
Another point to watch is intangible assets, which jumped to £49.7 million from £12.3 million. That is a normal side effect of acquisitions, but it does mean more of the balance sheet now rests on goodwill, brands and customer relationships.
On shareholder returns, the dividend was increased by 10% to 0.44p per share, up from 0.40p. The total payout is £0.5 million. Payment is due on 26 June 2026, subject to AGM approval, for shareholders on the register on 29 May 2026.
My view on Brave Bison shares after these FY25 annual results
This is a good annual results statement. The positives are clear: strong growth, beats versus consensus, an upgraded FY26 outlook, improving second-half margins, and a business mix that is becoming more interesting thanks to MiniMBA and the wider platform opportunity.
The negatives are also clear. Statutory profit is weak, margins dipped, debt is higher than before, and the acquisition programme adds integration risk. If one or two of these deals disappoint, the story could get wobblier quite quickly.
Overall, though, the tone of this RNS is firmly positive. Brave Bison looks like a company trying to build something bigger than a standard digital agency, and so far the numbers support that ambition. For investors, the next big test is whether FY26 delivers the promised step-up without another round of margin slippage or acquisition-related noise drowning out the underlying progress.
