IG Group Reports Strong First Half Under New CEO Breon Corcoran

Financial trading firm IG Group Holdings plc has reported an 11 per cent increase in total revenue to £522 million for the half year ended 30 November 2024, as new Chief Executive Breon Corcoran begins to implement his strategic vision for the company. Breon Corcoran was appointed CEO of the business on December 8, 2023, and officially assumed the role on January 29, 2024, after receiving regulatory approval.

Breon Corcoran, CEO, IG Group.

Corcoran, who took the helm in July 2024, saw the FTSE 250-listed company deliver a 30 per cent rise in adjusted profit before tax to £267 million, while statutory profit before tax grew 41 per cent to £249.3 million. The firm declared an interim dividend of 13.86 pence per share, up from 13.56 pence in the previous year.

"First half performance reflected more supportive market conditions, but we have work to do to grow active customers which will be necessary to deliver sustainably stronger growth," said Corcoran. He outlined three key priorities: improving product offerings, embedding a high-performance culture, and enhancing efficiency across the business.

A cornerstone of Corcoran's early tenure is the proposed acquisition of Freetrade, a strategic move into the UK retail investment space. IG Group described Freetrade as "a high-growth customer champion" that would enhance its UK direct-to-consumer investments offering and broaden its target addressable market, particularly among younger demographics. Freetrade has shown impressive growth, with assets under administration more than doubling from £1.2 billion in 2022 to £2.5 billion in 2024, while customers with over £10,000 in assets increased from 27,000 to 41,000 in the same period.

The acquisition aims to capitalise on several structural growth drivers in the UK market, including the democratisation of financial markets, increased individual responsibility for retirement planning, growing financial literacy, and intergenerational wealth transfer.

In addition to the Freetrade acquisition, IG Group has expanded its product range, launching US options and futures trading for UK clients. This exchange-traded derivatives segment showed strong performance with revenue rising 23 per cent to £78 million, primarily driven by tastytrade, the US-focused subsidiary, which saw revenue increase 24 per cent in US Dollar terms.

The company's core over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives revenue increased 10 per cent to £360.4 million, while stock trading and investments revenue rose 20 per cent to £13.3 million. The active client base remained broadly stable at 295,300, though OTC derivatives clients declined 3 per cent while exchange-traded derivatives clients increased 10 per cent.

Geographically, all regions showed growth, with the UK and Ireland division posting an 11 per cent increase to £138.3 million, while both the United States and Europe segments recorded 18 per cent growth.

The company demonstrated cost discipline, with operating costs down 1 per cent year-on-year to £277.4 million, driven by lower fixed remuneration and normalisation of bad debt charges. It also announced an extension of its share buyback programme by £50 million to £200 million, to be completed in the second half of FY25.

Looking ahead, Corcoran confirmed the company remains "on track to meet FY25 consensus revenue and PBT forecasts," while acknowledging there are "large and growing addressable markets and work to do to realise our potential."

A full slide presentation of IG's results can be viewed and downloaded here.

A full audio and slide presentation from Breon Corcoran can be viewed here.