Personal Group Soars: Beats Expectations with 22% EBITDA Rise and 41% Dividend Hike

Insurance: another record year, lower claims ratio

The Affordable Insurance segment did the heavy lifting. Record annualised new insurance sales rose 11% to £15.4m, while Annualised Premium Income (API) grew 12% to £40.5m with retention at 81.7%. The claims ratio improved to 27.1% (2024: 29.1%), supporting margin.

Penetration is rising – 20%+ at the Top 100 sites and 14.5% overall (2024: 13.0%). The distinctive face-to-face model remains a differentiator, complemented by improving digital propositions. Notably:

• New client wins (Avery, Securitas, Harbour Healthcare) added over 50,000 employees to the addressable base.
• Testing of new digital insurance for hospital cover and a death plan showed positive early responses.
• Service quality looks strong: 98% of claims processed within 48 hours in Q4 and a 4.9 Trustpilot score.

Adjusted EBITDA contribution from Insurance rose to £14.6m (2024: £12.4m). That, together with the lower claims ratio, underpins the EBITDAs beat.

Benefits & Rewards: ARR growth, Sage expansion and new digital tools

The digital benefits and rewards arm delivered ARR of £7.3m (2024: £6.7m). Hapi ARR nudged up to £2.71m, boosted by 30 new clients, an improved Net Retention Rate of 93.6% (2024: 91.0%), and a 23% increase in monetisation via third-party commissions. The Sage Employee Benefits (SEB) partnership deepened, with ARR up to £4.6m (2024: £4.1m) and a first step into Ireland in Q2 2025.

On the rewards side, Innecto had a busy year: around 200 project wins, 36 new clients and 17 new digital platform sales. The launch of Pathfinder (career mapping) and the RoleSense toolkit broadens the software footprint and should support higher-margin ARR over time.

Adjusted EBITDA contribution from Benefits & Reward was £6.1m (2024: £5.2m), highlighting the scalability of platform-led revenue blended with consultancy.

Partnerships: Simplyhealth opens doors

Partnerships are becoming a serious growth lever. Referrals have started from a major employee benefits partner and from Sante, while post-period Personal Group secured a partnership with Simplyhealth, gaining access to 12,000 business relationships for face-to-face engagement. If conversion lands well, this could accelerate insurance uptake beyond direct routes.

Cash, solvency and investment firepower

Cash and deposits were £29.0m at year end, with no debt. Operating cash flow was £9.9m (2024: £11.4m). Note that FY24 benefited from the sale of Let’s Connect; underlying cash generation remains healthy. Investment in intangibles of £2.7m reflects the build-out of digital capability, including Hapi 2.0 migration completion.

Regulatory buffers look reassuring: Personal Assurance Plc reported a 299% solvency ratio (unaudited), with a £10.1m surplus over a £5.1m SCR, and the Guernsey entity showed 487% (unaudited) with a £3.7m surplus. That prudence supports sustainable growth and dividend cover.

Management bench and governance

Board depth was strengthened during the year, though there is a planned CFO transition: Sarah Mace steps down at the May 2026 AGM, with Matthew Cohen joining by end of H1 FY26. The handover is flagged well in advance, which should mitigate execution risk.

Outlook and 2030 ambitions

The company enters 2026 with momentum and a clear plan around four pillars: Adoption, Expansion, Innovation and Partnering. Near-term priorities include growing face-to-face insurance sales, maximising Sage, expanding partnerships and keeping the dividend progressive.

The long-term markers are bold – £100m revenue, £30m EBITDA and £20m SaaS ARR by 2030. Today’s high share of recurring revenue and cash discipline make those targets credible, but delivery will hinge on converting partnerships, scaling digital insurance and maintaining customer retention above 80%.

What I like, and what I’m watching

Positives

• Clear beat: adjusted EBITDA of £12.1m vs £11.6m expectation.
• Dividend reset to c.1x EPS with a 41% uplift to 23.3p – backed by cash and no debt.
• High visibility: 90%+ recurring revenue and ARR up 12% to £48.6m.
• Insurance momentum: record new sales, improving penetration and a lower claims ratio.
• Partnership optionality: Simplyhealth access to 12,000 relationships could be a catalyst.

Watch items

• Operating cash flow down to £9.9m (2024: £11.4m) – context is the FY24 disposal benefit, but cash conversion remains a key metric.
• Rising central costs with growth ambitions – necessary, but should scale sensibly.
• CFO transition in H1 FY26 – planned, but always one to monitor for continuity.
• Digital insurance rollout and partnership conversion rates – the swing factors for growth in 2026.

Bottom line for investors

This is a high-quality print from Personal Group: a clean beat, visible revenues, robust cash and a materially higher dividend. The core insurance business is executing well, Benefits & Rewards is widening its software footprint, and partnerships could accelerate distribution without bloating cost to acquire.

If management sustains retention and converts new channels such as Simplyhealth and Sage’s expanded remit, FY26 should extend the trajectory. The shares will likely track execution on those levers – but on today’s evidence, the strategy is working.