# Derwent London (DLN.LSE)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/DLN.LSE

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:39:38.534Z. Financial observations: FY1996–FY2025.

Listing currency: GBX. Reporting currency: GBP.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: GBX 1,872.00 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 3 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 3

- Years with a net loss: 3

- Operating margin variation: 1.74×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 0.62×

- FY2017: 0.67×

- FY2018: 0.68×

- FY2019: 0.63×

- FY2020: 0.55×

- FY2021: 0.64×

- FY2022: 0.66×

- FY2023: -1.60×

- FY2024: 0.58×

- FY2025: 0.41×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- Recent gross margin fell 26.2pp below the typical margin (limit 4pp)

- ROIC, median of available years: 2.7%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: 2.2%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 26.2 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 77.6%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 51.4%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 25.9%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 1.1%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 2.4%

- FY2017: 2.8%

- FY2018: 3.0%

- FY2019: 2.6%

- FY2020: 2.2%

- FY2021: 2.7%

- FY2022: 2.4%

- FY2023: -7.0%

- FY2024: 3.1%

- FY2025: 3.2%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- working capital as a share of revenue rose more than 10pp and ends positive

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: GBP -651M

- Net income, five-year total: GBP -228M

- Return on incremental invested capital: 4.6%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 2.9 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 22.3 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 36.5%

Chart: Owner earnings · five years; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: GBP 65M

- FY2022: GBP -369M

- FY2023: GBP -483M

- FY2024: GBP -17M

- FY2025: GBP 153M

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks unrelated to price (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 2.8% vs 3.1%

- Per-share earnings: 2.80 to 1.03 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: -0.3%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 0.0%

- Market cap gain: GBP -1.1B

- Cumulative retained earnings: GBP 588M

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: -0.3%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 0.0%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value growth: -11.8%

- Per-share value change: GBP -1.77

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: GBP 2.80

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: GBP 1.03

- Average buyback yield: 0.0%

- Buyback history: 1 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: GBP 11M

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: GBP 573M

- ROIC, first three-year median: 2.8%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 3.1%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: GBP 0.53

- FY2017: GBP 2.80

- FY2018: GBP 1.99

- FY2019: GBP 2.53

- FY2020: GBP -0.69

- FY2021: GBP 2.24

- FY2022: GBP -2.50

- FY2023: GBP -4.24

- FY2024: GBP 1.03

- FY2025: GBP 1.44

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -1.3%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.54×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 0.9%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 1.42×

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.00×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -0.4%

- FY2017: 4.6%

- FY2018: 2.0%

- FY2019: 3.3%

- FY2020: -2.9%

- FY2021: 0.0%

- FY2022: 0.0%

- FY2023: -11.4%

- FY2024: 1.0%

- FY2025: -1.3%

## Holders

## Price story

Down 45% since Dec 2021 · sales +43.1%

Story as of 2026-10-16T10:00:10.925Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +43.1%; source https://filings.xbrl.org/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31/reports/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31-T01.html; observed 2026-04-15.

- FY2016: GBP 194M 

- FY2017: GBP 204M 

- FY2018: GBP 229M 

- FY2019: GBP 228M 

- FY2020: GBP 267M 

- FY2021: GBP 240M 

- FY2022: GBP 249M 

- FY2023: GBP 268M 

- FY2024: GBP 272M 

- FY2025: GBP 389M 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 51.4%; source https://filings.xbrl.org/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31/reports/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31-T01.html; observed 2026-04-15.

- FY2016: 77.9% 

- FY2017: 81.0% 

- FY2018: 81.1% 

- FY2019: 78.7% 

- FY2020: 73.7% 

- FY2021: 78.2% 

- FY2022: 77.3% 

- FY2023: 72.9% 

- FY2024: 70.9% 

- FY2025: 51.4% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in property rentals; annual sales are GBP 388.7 million.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31/reports/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31-T01.html (filed 2026-04-15); FY2025: revenue 388700000; grossProfit 199900000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 51.4% to 72.9% during 2023–25; it earns 2.7% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 72.9%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 70.9%.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31/reports/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31-T01.html (filed 2026-04-15); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 51.4%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,0.02441781315611541],[2017,0.028325176797757774],[2018,0.029583925360863874],[2019,0.026193650097150915],[2020,0.021667262767539483],[2021,0.0270494846454396],[2022,0.024479083853870907],[2023,-0.07049433059398731],[2024,0.03146384222567062],[2025,0.03157431415498206]]; median 0.026621567371295257. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Spends 6% of cash earnings on expansion; earns 4.6% on new investment.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); FY2016: growth capex 0; upkeep 4500000; owner earnings 54600000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); FY2017: growth capex 4300000; upkeep 700000; owner earnings 314000000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.013694267515923567.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); FY2018: growth capex 100000; upkeep 700000; owner earnings 222300000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.000449842555105713.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); FY2019: growth capex 0; upkeep 204300000; owner earnings 67900000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 173700000; owner earnings 65380000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31/reports/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31-T01.html (filed 2026-04-15); FY2025: growth capex 9200000; upkeep 800000; owner earnings 152900000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.060170045781556575.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); Incremental return on capital 0.0459605613978177, from the economics test's unchanged annual inputs.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); Dividend observations: [[2016,48600000],[2017,119700000],[2018,152000000],[2019,75100000],[2020,81800000],[2021,84300000],[2022,86800000],[2023,88700000],[2024,89600000],[2025,90800000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 4.4% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); DLN.LSE SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 4.4319999999999995 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price is 5.4 times annual sales.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-15); Closing price 1872 GBX; reporting-to-trading FX 100; FY2025 annual sales per share 3.463855421686747; price multiple 5.404382608695652. FY2025 cash earnings/share 1.3625507948955586. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (GBX per share)

- 2016-10: GBX 2,419.00 per share

- 2016-11: GBX 2,410.00 per share

- 2016-12: GBX 2,772.00 per share

- 2017-01: GBX 2,467.00 per share

- 2017-02: GBX 2,820.00 per share

- 2017-03: GBX 2,812.00 per share

- 2017-04: GBX 2,944.00 per share

- 2017-05: GBX 2,766.00 per share

- 2017-06: GBX 2,654.00 per share

- 2017-07: GBX 2,848.00 per share

- 2017-08: GBX 2,784.00 per share

- 2017-09: GBX 2,794.00 per share

- 2017-10: GBX 2,676.00 per share

- 2017-11: GBX 2,778.00 per share

- 2017-12: GBX 3,118.00 per share

- 2018-01: GBX 2,926.00 per share

- 2018-02: GBX 2,873.00 per share

- 2018-03: GBX 3,102.00 per share

- 2018-04: GBX 3,190.00 per share

- 2018-05: GBX 3,009.00 per share

- 2018-06: GBX 3,106.00 per share

- 2018-07: GBX 3,123.00 per share

- 2018-08: GBX 3,042.00 per share

- 2018-09: GBX 2,857.00 per share

- 2018-10: GBX 2,929.00 per share

- 2018-11: GBX 2,860.00 per share

- 2018-12: GBX 2,853.00 per share

- 2019-01: GBX 3,239.00 per share

- 2019-02: GBX 3,266.00 per share

- 2019-03: GBX 3,223.00 per share

- 2019-04: GBX 3,170.00 per share

- 2019-05: GBX 3,216.00 per share

- 2019-06: GBX 3,116.00 per share

- 2019-07: GBX 2,920.00 per share

- 2019-08: GBX 3,184.00 per share

- 2019-09: GBX 3,370.00 per share

- 2019-10: GBX 3,550.00 per share

- 2019-11: GBX 3,698.00 per share

- 2019-12: GBX 4,010.00 per share

- 2020-01: GBX 4,110.00 per share

- 2020-02: GBX 3,920.00 per share

- 2020-03: GBX 3,270.00 per share

- 2020-04: GBX 3,106.00 per share

- 2020-05: GBX 2,940.00 per share

- 2020-06: GBX 2,776.00 per share

- 2020-07: GBX 2,876.00 per share

- 2020-08: GBX 2,828.00 per share

- 2020-09: GBX 2,570.00 per share

- 2020-10: GBX 2,658.00 per share

- 2020-11: GBX 3,042.00 per share

- 2020-12: GBX 3,096.00 per share

- 2021-01: GBX 3,172.00 per share

- 2021-02: GBX 3,310.00 per share

- 2021-03: GBX 3,228.00 per share

- 2021-04: GBX 3,329.00 per share

- 2021-05: GBX 3,456.00 per share

- 2021-06: GBX 3,320.00 per share

- 2021-07: GBX 3,636.00 per share

- 2021-08: GBX 3,793.00 per share

- 2021-09: GBX 3,458.00 per share

- 2021-10: GBX 3,382.00 per share

- 2021-11: GBX 3,390.00 per share

- 2021-12: GBX 3,415.00 per share

- 2022-01: GBX 3,405.00 per share

- 2022-02: GBX 3,044.00 per share

- 2022-03: GBX 3,209.00 per share

- 2022-04: GBX 3,016.00 per share

- 2022-05: GBX 2,974.00 per share

- 2022-06: GBX 2,612.00 per share

- 2022-07: GBX 2,868.00 per share

- 2022-08: GBX 2,436.00 per share

- 2022-09: GBX 2,020.00 per share

- 2022-10: GBX 2,164.00 per share

- 2022-11: GBX 2,344.00 per share

- 2022-12: GBX 2,368.00 per share

- 2023-01: GBX 2,582.00 per share

- 2023-02: GBX 2,614.00 per share

- 2023-03: GBX 2,358.00 per share

- 2023-04: GBX 2,402.00 per share

- 2023-05: GBX 2,148.00 per share

- 2023-06: GBX 2,050.00 per share

- 2023-07: GBX 2,116.00 per share

- 2023-08: GBX 1,858.00 per share

- 2023-09: GBX 1,927.00 per share

- 2023-10: GBX 1,823.00 per share

- 2023-11: GBX 2,106.00 per share

- 2023-12: GBX 2,360.00 per share

- 2024-01: GBX 2,140.00 per share

- 2024-02: GBX 1,924.00 per share

- 2024-03: GBX 2,168.00 per share

- 2024-04: GBX 2,056.00 per share

- 2024-05: GBX 2,328.00 per share

- 2024-06: GBX 2,260.00 per share

- 2024-07: GBX 2,298.00 per share

- 2024-08: GBX 2,336.00 per share

- 2024-09: GBX 2,402.00 per share

- 2024-10: GBX 2,190.00 per share

- 2024-11: GBX 2,114.00 per share

- 2024-12: GBX 1,959.00 per share

- 2025-01: GBX 1,961.00 per share

- 2025-02: GBX 1,839.00 per share

- 2025-03: GBX 1,846.00 per share

- 2025-04: GBX 1,943.00 per share

- 2025-05: GBX 1,973.00 per share

- 2025-06: GBX 2,072.00 per share

- 2025-07: GBX 1,930.00 per share

- 2025-08: GBX 1,700.00 per share

- 2025-09: GBX 1,743.00 per share

- 2025-10: GBX 1,760.00 per share

- 2025-11: GBX 1,700.00 per share

- 2025-12: GBX 1,739.00 per share

- 2026-01: GBX 1,922.00 per share

- 2026-02: GBX 1,814.00 per share

- 2026-03: GBX 1,572.00 per share

- 2026-04: GBX 1,713.00 per share

- 2026-05: GBX 1,778.00 per share

- 2026-06: GBX 1,941.00 per share

- 2026-07: GBX 2,104.00 per share

- 2026-08: GBX 2,048.00 per share

- 2026-09: GBX 1,821.00 per share

- 2026-10: GBX 1,872.00 per share

## Annual estimated value (GBX per share)

- FY2016: low GBX 4,635.68 per share, central GBX 5,273.13 per share, high GBX 6,121.71 per share

- FY2017: low GBX 5,654.84 per share, central GBX 7,487.76 per share, high GBX 8,753.13 per share

- FY2018: low GBX 4,021.48 per share, central GBX 5,360.29 per share, high GBX 6,274.32 per share

- FY2019: low GBX 2,527.23 per share, central GBX 3,312.95 per share, high GBX 3,869.10 per share

- FY2020: low GBX 817.92 per share, central GBX 925.11 per share, high GBX 1,067.79 per share

- FY2021: low GBX 786.58 per share, central GBX 882.68 per share, high GBX 1,010.61 per share

- FY2022: low GBX 723.33 per share, central GBX 814.27 per share, high GBX 935.32 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original ESEF filing](https://filings.xbrl.org/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31/reports/213800BXKQ9KZNUR1M61-2025-12-31-T01.html); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-04-15.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.