Q4 and FY25 Trading Update

Norman Broadbent PLC

15 January 2026

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018

Norman Broadbent plc

("Norman Broadbent")

Q4 AND FY25 TRADING UPDATE

Record Financial Performance

Norman Broadbent (AIM: NBB), a leading Executive Search and Interim Management firm, provides the following trading update for the three months ended 31 December 2025 ("Q4 25") and the year ended 31 December 2025 ("FY25").

Financial Summary

	FY25[1]	FY24
	£m (unaudited)	£m (audited)	Change
Net Fee Income ("NFI")	12.3	9.3	32%
Underlying EBITDA[2]	1.3	0.3	333%
Underlying EBITDA margin[3]	11.0%	3.3%	-
Profit/(Loss) before tax	0.7	(0.2)	-
Net cash[4]	1.5	0.1	1400%

FY25 Highlights

·      NFI of £12.3m and underlying EBITDA^[2] of £1.3m reflects a strong trading performance against a tough market backdrop and delivers on the medium term EBITDA target set four years ago

·      Year-end net cash^[4] of £1.5m is a £1.4m positive swing from the prior year (FY24: £0.1m) reflecting the cash generative nature of the business as EBITDA grows

Q4 25 Highlights

·      NFI of £3.3m for Q4 25 is up £0.8m on the prior year Q4 and is the Company's strongest quarter for FY25 (Q1 25: £3.0m; Q2 25: £3.0m; Q3 25: £2.9m)

·      Executive Search underpinned the fourth quarter performance, contributing 87% of NFI with Placement income particularly strong

Kevin Davidson, CEO of Norman Broadbent, said:

"I am delighted to report the business delivered another strong trading performance in the fourth quarter to close the year with underlying EBITDA of £1.3m. This was despite persistent market challenges and is comfortably ahead of Board expectations.

We set the strategic plan to transform Norman Broadbent when I joined the business four years ago and as part of this plan, we set a medium-term EBITDA target of £1.25m. With the FY25 results we have both completed the turnaround phase of our strategy and delivered on this important financial commitment.

We have created a much stronger platform to fuel the next stage of growth for Norman Broadbent. Targeted investment in headcount to achieve a fundamental change in the scale of our business remains central to our growth plan. In addition, we continue to explore acquisition opportunities to accelerate the journey where it makes strategic and financial sense to do so.  We will remain disciplined in executing on our plans and tenacious in managing the prevailing market environment which remains challenging. We have a clear strategy in place to grow the business and we are looking forward with real confidence to delivering on this plan and building shareholder value."

Footnotes

^[1] FY25 results remain subject to audit

^[2]Excludes share based payment charges

^[3]Underlying EBITDA divided by NFI

^[4]Excludes lease liabilities

Contacts: 

Norman Broadbent plc	Via Gracechurch Group
Kevin Davidson, CEO
Mehr Malik, CFO
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker)	[phone]
Julian Blunt, Seamus Fricker - Corporate Finance
Jasper Berry, Matt Lewis - Sales / Corporate Broking
Gracechurch Group (Financial Media & Investor Relations)	[phone]
Murdo Montgomery	[e-mail]
Tommy Bryson
Anysia Virdi

About Norman Broadbent:

Norman Broadbent (AIM: NBB) is a professional services firm focused on executive search, senior interim management solutions and bespoke leadership advisory services working across the UK and internationally.

Established as the first UK-headquartered search firm in 1979, the firm has a 40+ year track record of shaping leadership across industries including Consumer, Financial Services, Industrials, Life Sciences, Investor and TMT.

www.normanbroadbent.com

 

END