Logistics Development Group’s FY2025 results are a bit of a mixed bag at first glance, but the bigger picture is more encouraging than the headline profit decline suggests. Profit was lower year-on-year, yet the value of the investment portfolio moved up nicely, net asset value (NAV) per share held at 26.7p, and the company kept recycling capital into what it clearly sees as its best opportunity – WS Holdco.
For retail investors, the key thing to remember is that LDG is an investing company, not a normal trading business. That means the numbers are driven heavily by changes in the valuation of its investments rather than turnover and operating profit in the usual sense.
Logistics Development Group FY2025 results: profit down, portfolio value up
LDG reported an underlying EBIT profit of £14.6 million for FY2025, down from £18.4 million in 2024. Profit before tax also eased back to £15.0 million from £19.8 million.
That is the obvious negative. But at the same time, the fair value of investments rose to £107.8 million from £87.2 million, which is a material uplift and arguably the more important number for this type of company.
| Key FY2025 numbers | FY2025 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Underlying EBIT | £14.6 million | £18.4 million |
| Profit before tax | £15.0 million | £19.8 million |
| Investment fair value | £107.8 million | £87.2 million |
| Estimated NAV per share | 26.7p | 22.3p at 31 December 2024 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | £2.2 million | £29.6 million |
| Basic EPS | 3.4p | 3.6p |
Underlying EBIT is simply profit before interest and tax, with exceptional items added back. In this case, there were no exceptional items in the year, so the adjusted number is fairly clean.
Why LDG’s £107.8 million portfolio valuation matters more than the profit line
The really important point in this RNS is that LDG measures its investments at fair value through profit and loss. In plain English, it marks its holdings to what management believes they are worth, rather than consolidating all the underlying businesses into one big group set of accounts.
That means the £15.9 million gain on investments is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. It is not a bad thing, but investors should be clear-eyed about it – valuation gains are not the same as cash receipts.
Management says the portfolio was bought at a capital weighted entry multiple of 6.0x EV/EBITDA and is now marked at 7.5x EV/EBITDA. EV/EBITDA is a common valuation yardstick comparing enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. DBAY says comparable companies often trade at 10-15x, which suggests potential upside, but that is still only potential until assets are sold or refinanced.
My take is that this is cautiously positive. The manager is clearly trying to show the portfolio is conservatively valued, but because most of these assets are private, shareholders still need to place a fair amount of trust in the valuation process.
LDG portfolio update: Alliance Pharma, Finsbury, SQLI and WS Holdco drive the story
Alliance Pharma looks like a value realisation win
Alliance Pharma was a big development in 2025. DBAY’s offer rose from 62.50p per share to 64.75p per share, which represented an 18% increase in value versus LDG’s average purchase price and a 42% premium to the valuation at 31 December 2024.
That matters because it gives some external proof that the portfolio can be worth more than older carrying values suggest. Alliance then finished FY2025 in line with management forecasts, and after year end its prescription products disposal helped cut forecast net debt from £275 million at the end of December 2025 to around £175 million at 31 March 2026.
Finsbury is quietly doing exactly what investors want
Finsbury generated FY25 revenue of £445 million. Revenue softened by 2%, but profitability improved year-on-year, helped by price recovery, input cost deflation and operational efficiencies.
The bigger event came after year end. LDG received £11.4 million from a refinancing and return of capital, reducing its effective capital exposure to just £2.8 million while keeping the same equity stake. That is a very tidy bit of de-risking.
SQLI is holding up well in a tough market
SQLI reported unaudited revenue of €252 million, up 2%, with margins improving to 10% from 9.5%. In a difficult European IT services market, that is a respectable outcome.
Management also highlighted the strongest second-half profitability in the company’s history. That does not guarantee anything, but it suggests the operational improvement plan is working.
WS Holdco is now the main growth bet
WS Holdco is the boldest move in the portfolio. LDG invested £15 million in July 2025 for a 42.6% stake, and after year end redirected another £10 million into the business, lifting its interest to 51.3% before later moving to 50.7% following the EV Cargo Solutions and Distribution acquisition.
This is a classic buy-and-build strategy in UK logistics. WS Holdco had grown to more than £300 million of run-rate revenue by March 2026 year-end, with a medium-term target of more than £500 million of revenue.
I like the ambition here, but this is also where the execution risk sits. Buy-and-build stories can create a lot of value, but they can just as easily become messy if integration slips.
LDG tender offer and shareholder returns: £21.0 million back at 19.00p per share
One of the biggest shareholder events in the year was the tender offer. LDG returned up to £21.0 million at 19.00p per share, repurchasing and cancelling 110,526,315 shares, equal to about 21.08% of the voting share capital.
That is meaningful. It reduced the share count to 413,824,079 shares and gave investors a route to crystalise some value, even though the company paid no dividend.
The slight catch is that the tender price was well below the reported 31 December 2025 NAV per share of 26.7p. So if you stayed in, you backed management’s view that there is more long-term value to come. If you sold into the tender, you took certainty at a discount.
LDG balance sheet and cash: asset-rich, but cash has dropped sharply
Cash and cash equivalents fell to £2.2 million from £29.6 million. That looks dramatic, but it is largely explained by the £21.0 million tender offer and investment activity, including the £15 million WS Holdco investment.
Administrative expenses were broadly stable at £1.3 million. No final dividend was recommended, and there were no contingent liabilities or capital commitments disclosed at year end.
One point worth watching is the related-party structure. LDG and several portfolio companies are tied closely to DBAY, and Fixtaia accrued £475,000 of performance fees in the year, with £4.35 million outstanding at 31 December 2025. That does not make the model wrong, but investors should understand that alignment and fee transparency really matter here.
What the Logistics Development Group FY2025 results mean for retail investors
- Positive: NAV per share is up to 26.7p from 22.3p at 31 December 2024.
- Positive: Finsbury’s £11.4 million return of capital de-risked part of the portfolio.
- Positive: Alliance and SQLI both appear to be trading in line with or ahead of expectations.
- Positive: WS Holdco gives LDG a clear growth platform in UK logistics.
- Negative: Reported profit, underlying EBIT and EPS all fell year-on-year.
- Negative: Cash has dropped sharply to £2.2 million.
- Risk: Much of the value is tied up in private asset valuations rather than realised cash exits.
Overall, I would call this a solid update with a constructive outlook, rather than a blowout set of results. LDG looks like a company that is steadily building value in the background, but investors need patience and a tolerance for private market valuation risk.
If DBAY can keep turning paper gains into actual cash returns, this could get more interesting. For now, the story is simple – lower annual profit, better underlying asset value, and a growing bet on logistics through WS Holdco.
