Christie Group PLC (AIM:CTG), the business brokerage and professional services firm, surged 29% to 155p after reporting a near-doubling of operating profit and a 57% dividend increase following a record year of deal activity that beat its own expectations.
Operating profit from continuing operations rose 95.5% to £6.9 million for the year to 31 December 2025, as revenue from continuing operations grew 19.2% to £70.6 million.
The group sold 1,164 businesses during the year with a combined value of nearly £2.0 billion, up 45% on 2024, while average brokerage fees rose 26%.
Profit before tax from continuing operations came in at £6 million, against £2.6 million the prior year, with earnings per share from continuing operations up 87.9% to 19.37p.
The net funds position improved significantly to £9.4 million from £4.9 million, and the group's Professional and Financial Services division, which accounts for the bulk of revenues, grew operating profit by £3.4 million to £6.1 million.
Christie completed the sale of its non-core Vennersys ticketing software brand in January 2026 for £0.5 million as part of a continued focus on improving earnings quality.
The final dividend of 2.75p per share gives a full-year total of 3.50p, up from 2.25p in 2024.
The group enters 2026 with UK transactional pipelines 9.6% higher than a year earlier, and said instruction levels have remained robust through the first quarter.
Chief executive Dan Prickett said the group was confident of achieving similar business sales volumes in 2026 and delivering a third consecutive year of selling more than 1,000 businesses, absent major market disruption.