Marlowe plc

First-half revenue was £251 million, up 13% year over year, driven by 6% organic growth and acquisitions. Adjusted EBITDA was £43 million, up 10%, with a 17.1% margin, down 0.5 points year over year. Net cash from operations was £27.5 million, up 22%, or £21.8 million after leases, up 26%; working capital outflow was £10.1 million. Net debt excluding leases was £192.7 million, leverage was 2.3x, and management expects leverage to be around 2x at year-end. For the full year, management guided to restructuring costs of about £16 million, CapEx of £15 million, a working capital outflow of around £5 million, interest costs of £18 million to £19 million, and an effective tax rate of 25%.

Alex Dacre said the company’s long-term strategy is shifting toward higher-margin GRC software and regulated services, while TIC is now focused more on organic growth and margin improvement after years of M&A-led buildout. He emphasized that integration work is largely done or nearing completion, and that those investments should unlock synergies and reduce restructuring costs materially into FY 2025. He also framed the strategic review as a way to better match the company’s different businesses and maximize shareholder value through a potential managed separation.

Adam Councell highlighted that first-half revenue grew 13% to £251 million and adjusted EBITDA rose 10% to £43 million, with margin at 17.1%. He noted net finance costs increased to £8.9 million because of higher borrowing costs and heavier debt-facility usage, while adjusted PBT was £24.1 million; adjusted EPS was affected by higher finance costs and the 25% corporation tax rate. He also pointed to cash from operations of £27.5 million, CapEx of £6.9 million, free cash flow investment of £9.4 million, net debt of £192.7 million, and leverage of 2.3x, saying H2 should benefit from lower integration costs, better working capital, and deleveraging.

Analysts focused on occupational health insourcing, second-half organic growth, margin direction, possible near-term M&A, TIC margin upside, restructuring costs, interest-rate exposure, and whether dividends could eventually resume. Management said the insourced public-sector contract was expected and involved about £4 million to £5 million of revenue, while occupational health should grow mid- to high single digits over time with margins eventually around 20%. They also said no M&A is expected in the second half, TIC margins should improve as subcontracting normalizes, restructuring should fall sharply into FY 2025, debt is floating but may be fixed if pricing becomes attractive, and dividends are now possible after the capital reduction but deleveraging remains the priority.