# IP Group (IPO.LSE)

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

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:44:41.946Z. Financial observations: FY2001–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 71.20 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

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

- more than 2 net loss years

- negative average operating margin

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 4

- Years with a net loss: 6

- Operating margin variation: 2.83×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -3.82×

- FY2017: 1.71×

- FY2018: -7.71×

- FY2019: -3.57×

- FY2020: 2.13×

- FY2021: 4.83×

- FY2024: -2.98×

- FY2025: -1.27×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

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

- ROIC, median of available years: -5.9%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -19.6%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 4.0%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: -4.2%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -1.6%

- FY2017: 1.4%

- FY2018: -6.5%

- FY2019: -6.6%

- FY2020: 16.2%

- FY2021: 30.5%

- FY2022: -21.9%

- FY2023: -12.6%

- FY2024: -19.6%

- FY2025: -5.3%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: GBP -212M

- Net income, five-year total: GBP -201M

- Return on incremental invested capital: -80.7%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 2.7 pp

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

- FY2021: GBP 450M

- FY2022: GBP -342M

- FY2023: GBP -170M

- FY2024: GBP -202M

- FY2025: GBP 53M

### management: fail

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

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: -1.6% vs -12.6%

- Per-share earnings: 0.06 to -0.16 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- acquired goodwill and intangibles (proxy) exceeds half of ten-year net income with low and deteriorating ROIC

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 5.2%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: -2.6%

- Market cap gain: GBP -458M

- Cumulative retained earnings: GBP 612M

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 5.2%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: -2.6%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value change: GBP -0.22

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: GBP 0.06

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: GBP -0.16

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.30

- Average buyback yield: 3.4%

- Buyback history: 5 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: GBP 343M

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: GBP -349M

- ROIC, first three-year median: -1.6%

- ROIC, last three-year median: -12.6%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: GBP -0.03

- FY2017: GBP 0.06

- FY2018: GBP -0.28

- FY2019: GBP -0.07

- FY2020: GBP 0.17

- FY2021: GBP 0.41

- FY2022: GBP -0.33

- FY2023: GBP -0.16

- FY2024: GBP -0.20

- FY2025: GBP 0.07

### accounting: fail

- latest-year receivables to sales index (DSRI) exceeds 1.465

- earnings not backed by cash

- Sloan accruals: 7.4%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 7.05×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Earnings backed by cash: No

- Operating cash / earnings: -0.22×

- Accounting red flags: 1

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.00×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -0.4%

- FY2017: 4.3%

- FY2018: -19.6%

- FY2019: -4.5%

- FY2020: 14.4%

- FY2021: 23.3%

- FY2022: -20.4%

- FY2023: -10.8%

- FY2024: -15.4%

- FY2025: 7.4%

## Holders

## Price story

Down 42% since Dec 2021 · sales -35.1%

Story as of 2026-10-16T10:00:13.133Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales -35.1%; source https://filings.xbrl.org/213800HG22UM138WFG43/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en/reports/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en.xhtml; observed 2026-04-21.

- FY2016: GBP 3.4M 

- FY2017: GBP 9.6M 

- FY2018: GBP 12M 

- FY2019: GBP 25M 

- FY2020: GBP 89M 

- FY2021: GBP 95M 

- FY2022: GBP -700K 

- FY2023: GBP -4.9M 

- FY2024: GBP 69M 

- FY2025: GBP 45M 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 98.9%; source https://filings.xbrl.org/213800HG22UM138WFG43/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en/reports/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en.xhtml; observed 2026-04-21.

- FY2017: 50.0% 

- FY2018: 6.7% 

- FY2019: 93.9% 

- FY2020: 98.4% 

- FY2021: 98.3% 

- FY2024: 99.1% 

- FY2025: 98.9% 

## Owner memo

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

### How it makes money

Operates in asset management; annual sales are GBP 44.9 million.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800HG22UM138WFG43/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en/reports/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en.xhtml (filed 2026-04-21); FY2025: revenue 44900000; grossProfit 44400000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

### Why customers stay

It lost 5.9% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-21); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,-0.016466249799583135],[2017,0.013967486714196016],[2018,-0.06493053688267456],[2019,-0.06586448377022806],[2020,0.16189520069702287],[2021,0.30484965135504594],[2022,-0.21906974871134022],[2023,-0.1263579973416039],[2024,-0.19616746987951808],[2025,-0.05269505519992578]]; median -0.05881279604130017. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 6 of 10 years; bought back GBP 45.7 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-21); FY2017: growth capex 0; upkeep 1600000; owner earnings 52900000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-21); FY2020: growth capex 5185205.6950929165; upkeep 167914794.30490708; owner earnings 18885205.695092916. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.2745644277753473.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-21); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 200000; owner earnings 449600000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800HG22UM138WFG43/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en/reports/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en.xhtml (filed 2026-04-21); FY2025: growth capex 0; upkeep 14500000; cash acquisitions 104800000; owner earnings 52800000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 1.9848484848484849.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-21); Dividend observations: [[2016,0],[2017,0],[2018,15000000],[2019,15000000],[2020,15000000],[2021,15000000],[2022,12300000],[2023,13000000],[2024,0],[2025,0]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800HG22UM138WFG43/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en/reports/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en.xhtml (filed 2026-04-21); FY2025: cash repurchases 45700000 GBP.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 6.3% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); IPO.LSE SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 6.322 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price is 14.9 times annual sales.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-21); Closing price 71.2 GBX; reporting-to-trading FX 100; FY2025 annual sales per share 0.04772875983473021; price multiple 14.917630427973275. FY2025 cash earnings/share 0.05612647036244443. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

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

- 2016-10: GBX 150.27 per share

- 2016-11: GBX 138.99 per share

- 2016-12: GBX 178.53 per share

- 2017-01: GBX 191.61 per share

- 2017-02: GBX 158.76 per share

- 2017-03: GBX 156.47 per share

- 2017-04: GBX 139.29 per share

- 2017-05: GBX 139.00 per share

- 2017-06: GBX 134.60 per share

- 2017-07: GBX 142.50 per share

- 2017-08: GBX 115.60 per share

- 2017-09: GBX 137.20 per share

- 2017-10: GBX 148.00 per share

- 2017-11: GBX 150.00 per share

- 2017-12: GBX 142.20 per share

- 2018-01: GBX 127.60 per share

- 2018-02: GBX 114.80 per share

- 2018-03: GBX 114.60 per share

- 2018-04: GBX 133.80 per share

- 2018-05: GBX 137.80 per share

- 2018-06: GBX 126.80 per share

- 2018-07: GBX 124.00 per share

- 2018-08: GBX 130.20 per share

- 2018-09: GBX 129.00 per share

- 2018-10: GBX 107.00 per share

- 2018-11: GBX 116.60 per share

- 2018-12: GBX 108.60 per share

- 2019-01: GBX 106.00 per share

- 2019-02: GBX 101.00 per share

- 2019-03: GBX 87.80 per share

- 2019-04: GBX 100.00 per share

- 2019-05: GBX 80.20 per share

- 2019-06: GBX 74.60 per share

- 2019-07: GBX 68.60 per share

- 2019-08: GBX 56.80 per share

- 2019-09: GBX 63.70 per share

- 2019-10: GBX 56.00 per share

- 2019-11: GBX 60.20 per share

- 2019-12: GBX 71.00 per share

- 2020-01: GBX 69.10 per share

- 2020-02: GBX 66.60 per share

- 2020-03: GBX 50.10 per share

- 2020-04: GBX 55.50 per share

- 2020-05: GBX 62.60 per share

- 2020-06: GBX 63.90 per share

- 2020-07: GBX 66.50 per share

- 2020-08: GBX 73.40 per share

- 2020-09: GBX 78.00 per share

- 2020-10: GBX 79.50 per share

- 2020-11: GBX 86.00 per share

- 2020-12: GBX 98.90 per share

- 2021-01: GBX 95.00 per share

- 2021-02: GBX 115.60 per share

- 2021-03: GBX 124.20 per share

- 2021-04: GBX 128.40 per share

- 2021-05: GBX 123.60 per share

- 2021-06: GBX 116.40 per share

- 2021-07: GBX 115.20 per share

- 2021-08: GBX 127.00 per share

- 2021-09: GBX 140.00 per share

- 2021-10: GBX 120.60 per share

- 2021-11: GBX 115.40 per share

- 2021-12: GBX 123.80 per share

- 2022-01: GBX 96.40 per share

- 2022-02: GBX 93.80 per share

- 2022-03: GBX 90.00 per share

- 2022-04: GBX 83.40 per share

- 2022-05: GBX 87.15 per share

- 2022-06: GBX 70.00 per share

- 2022-07: GBX 86.30 per share

- 2022-08: GBX 70.00 per share

- 2022-09: GBX 59.40 per share

- 2022-10: GBX 59.00 per share

- 2022-11: GBX 66.00 per share

- 2022-12: GBX 55.75 per share

- 2023-01: GBX 61.00 per share

- 2023-02: GBX 65.35 per share

- 2023-03: GBX 55.35 per share

- 2023-04: GBX 56.30 per share

- 2023-05: GBX 56.60 per share

- 2023-06: GBX 56.50 per share

- 2023-07: GBX 59.80 per share

- 2023-08: GBX 58.70 per share

- 2023-09: GBX 53.00 per share

- 2023-10: GBX 43.85 per share

- 2023-11: GBX 50.50 per share

- 2023-12: GBX 58.10 per share

- 2024-01: GBX 52.40 per share

- 2024-02: GBX 47.85 per share

- 2024-03: GBX 47.60 per share

- 2024-04: GBX 47.95 per share

- 2024-05: GBX 54.20 per share

- 2024-06: GBX 41.60 per share

- 2024-07: GBX 41.70 per share

- 2024-08: GBX 41.80 per share

- 2024-09: GBX 49.70 per share

- 2024-10: GBX 45.85 per share

- 2024-11: GBX 44.00 per share

- 2024-12: GBX 53.90 per share

- 2025-01: GBX 52.20 per share

- 2025-02: GBX 43.05 per share

- 2025-03: GBX 40.60 per share

- 2025-04: GBX 42.20 per share

- 2025-05: GBX 44.65 per share

- 2025-06: GBX 52.00 per share

- 2025-07: GBX 55.90 per share

- 2025-08: GBX 60.10 per share

- 2025-09: GBX 53.70 per share

- 2025-10: GBX 60.40 per share

- 2025-11: GBX 64.60 per share

- 2025-12: GBX 58.60 per share

- 2026-01: GBX 59.20 per share

- 2026-02: GBX 57.00 per share

- 2026-03: GBX 52.70 per share

- 2026-04: GBX 61.40 per share

- 2026-05: GBX 69.10 per share

- 2026-06: GBX 65.50 per share

- 2026-07: GBX 62.30 per share

- 2026-08: GBX 72.60 per share

- 2026-09: GBX 75.40 per share

- 2026-10: GBX 71.20 per share

## Annual estimated value (GBX per share)

- FY2016: low GBX 31.66 per share, central GBX 33.28 per share, high GBX 35.45 per share

- FY2017: low GBX 62.16 per share, central GBX 65.30 per share, high GBX 69.48 per share

- FY2021: low GBX 55.09 per share, central GBX 66.00 per share, high GBX 72.36 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/213800HG22UM138WFG43/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en/reports/213800HG22UM138WFG43-2025-12-31-1-en.xhtml); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-04-21.

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.