IG Group posts strong H1 2026 revenue, proposes Jersey holding company, and streamlines operations for growth.
This article covers information on IG Group Holdings plc.
LON:IGGIG Group has packed a lot into one announcement. The headline items are a proposal to create a new Jersey-incorporated holding company, a reshuffle of the business structure, and a strong trading update for the half year ended 30 June 2026.
For retail investors, this is one of those updates where the numbers are good, but the structure changes matter too. The trading performance says the business is growing nicely. The holding company move says management is still thinking bigger about how the group is organised and where future value could come from.
| Metric | H1 2026 | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | Approximately £643 million | Up around 18% |
| Organic total revenue | Approximately £624 million | Up around 16% |
| First trades | Not disclosed | Up approximately 107% reported, 74% organic |
| Active customers | Not disclosed | Up approximately 66% reported, 13% organic |
| 2026 organic revenue guidance | From 2025 base of approximately £1,100 million | Growth of 10-15% |
| 2026 EBITDA margin guidance | Mid-40s per cent range | Reiterated |
| 2026 net interest income guidance | £110-120 million | Reiterated |
Those are healthy numbers. Revenue growth of around 18% is strong enough on its own, but the organic growth figure of around 16% matters more because it gives a cleaner picture of how the underlying business is performing without relying purely on acquired growth.
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IG is proposing to set up a new group holding company in Jersey, called New HoldCo, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. A holding company sits above the operating businesses and owns the group structure.
The company says this will give it greater financial and strategic flexibility and better reflect its international footprint, with around two-thirds of revenue now generated outside the UK. That is the official logic, and it is a fair one if the business is increasingly global.
That list is important because it answers the obvious investor concern. A Jersey move can sound more dramatic than it really is, but IG is going out of its way to say this is not a delisting, not a tax relocation, and not a retreat from London.
The proposal will be implemented via a Court-approved scheme of arrangement. In plain English, that is a legal process used to reorganise a company, and here it means shareholders would exchange their existing IG Group Holdings plc shares for shares in the new holding company on a one-for-one basis.
So if this goes ahead, shareholders do not lose their economic stake. They simply end up holding shares in the new parent company instead of the current one.
Potentially, yes – but it is not a guaranteed value unlock on day one. The immediate benefit is flexibility. If IG is considering acquisitions, alternative listing venues, or possible combinations with other industry participants, a cleaner international holding company structure may make those options easier to execute.
That is the positive angle. The less exciting truth is that structure changes only matter if management uses them well. Investors should treat this as enabling infrastructure rather than a result in itself.
There is also execution risk. The scheme needs shareholder approval and regulatory approval, including from the FCA and certain other international financial regulators, and IG expects it to become effective in Q4 2026 if all goes to plan. Until then, it is a proposal, not a completed move.
IG is also streamlining its operating model. The UK & Ireland, Europe, and APAC & Middle East divisions will be combined into a single commercial business unit led by Michael Healy, who will become CEO, IG Consumer.
Customer-facing technology teams, operations, Independent Reserve, and Freetrade will also move into that division. North America and Institutional will remain separate, led by Michael Vaughan and Andy Biggs respectively.
Management says the aim is to serve customers better, bring products to market faster, and improve efficiency. That makes sense on paper. Fewer regional silos can reduce duplication and help a platform business move quicker.
My view is that this is sensible, not flashy. It suggests IG thinks the next leg of growth will come from sharper execution and a more joined-up customer proposition, rather than simply bolting on more complexity.
The RNS does not disclose any cost savings target, restructuring charge, or headcount changes. So for now, investors get the strategic intent, but not the financial detail.
The hard numbers are the best part of this announcement. IG expects H1 2026 total revenue of approximately £643 million, up around 18% on the prior year, and organic total revenue of approximately £624 million, up around 16%.
Customer activity also looks lively. First trades increased approximately 107% on a reported basis and 74% organically, while active customers increased approximately 66% on a reported basis and 13% organically.
The reported growth rates are eye-catching, but the organic figures are the ones I would lean on more heavily. They suggest genuine underlying momentum rather than growth being flattered solely by acquisitions.
It is also worth noting the footnote that total revenue was up 17% on an organic, continuing operations basis. That tells you there are a few moving pieces in the reporting perimeter, so investors should read the full interim results on 31 July 2026 for the cleaner detail.
IG says it continued to trade well in Q2 2026 and expects full-year results in line with market expectations. The board has reiterated the guidance it upgraded on 19 May 2026.
That is reassuring. When a company delivers a strong half-year update and keeps upgraded guidance intact, it usually tells you trading has held up rather than faded after a strong quarter.
Beyond 2026, the board remains confident the group can compound organic total revenue at least 10% per annum on the 2025 base, while sustaining EBITDA margins in a mid-40s per cent range. That is an ambitious medium-term statement, and it raises the bar for execution.
The strategic review is not finished. Alongside the holding company proposal and operating model changes, IG says it is still evaluating acquisitions to accelerate growth, the group’s listing venues, and potential combinations of parts of the group with other industry participants.
That is where things get more interesting. It suggests management is keeping multiple strategic options open, and the Jersey structure may be partly about preparing the ground for those choices.
But investors should also recognise the uncertainty. No acquisitions, listing changes, or combinations have been announced here. The detail is simply not disclosed yet, with outcomes due at a Strategy Update in autumn 2026.
Overall, this reads positively. The trading update is strong, guidance is intact, and management is trying to simplify the business while giving itself more strategic room to manoeuvre.
The biggest positive is that the operating performance appears to justify the strategic ambition. Too often, companies announce clever structures to distract from weak numbers. That is not the case here.
The main negative is that some of the most exciting possibilities are still only possibilities. The new holding company needs approvals, the reorganisation needs to deliver real efficiency, and the broader strategic review still lacks hard outcomes.
For now, IG looks like a business with momentum and optionality. That is a good combination. The next big checkpoint is the H1 2026 results on 31 July 2026, when investors should get a fuller read on margins, customer quality, and how much of this growth is likely to stick.
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