Wilmington (LON:WIL) reported growth in eight of its nine continuing businesses for FY 2026, supported by the acquisition of Spanish compliance-services provider Conversia and continued expansion in recurring revenue.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Milner said ongoing revenue rose 37%, while organic revenue growth was 4%, matching the first-half rate. Ongoing adjusted EBITDA increased 33% to £29.8 million and ongoing adjusted profit before tax rose 15% to £30.1 million. The company proposed a 9% increase in the full-year dividend to 12.5 pence per share.
Divisional performance and margins
Millward said organic growth excluded Conversia and Phoenix Health & Safety, while including Astutis. Astutis was the only continuing business not to grow during the year, with revenue flat against a strong prior-year comparison, although it has since returned to growth.
The health, safety and environment segment faced sales headwinds, particularly in the first half. Phoenix grew 9% year-over-year, while Astutis was flat. Both businesses improved sales in the second half, which contributed to better deferred income and a stronger start to FY 2027, Millward said.
Within legal services, Pendragon grew revenue 8%, while Bond Solon returned to modest growth after a difficult FY 2025. Financial-services growth was led by ICA and CLT International, each up 7%, and Axco, up 6%. Mercia grew revenue 1%, with 6% volume growth offset by pricing pressure in what Millward described as a competitive market.
Group operating margins were just below 30%, reflecting the lower current margins of acquired businesses. Excluding acquisitions, margins were 37%, up from 35% in Wilmington’s established financial-services and legal businesses. Millward said investment in sales at the health and safety businesses had not yet been matched by revenue growth, but management was targeting mid-20% margins over the next 12 to 18 months if growth continued.
The company’s U.S. events business, FRA, remains held for sale after being rationalized around a smaller set of core events. FRA generated £8.7 million in revenue and a £1.3 million trading profit during the year. Millward said the reduced business should become more profitable in FY 2027 following lower overheads, while its major March 2027 events were tracking slightly ahead of the prior year.
Conversia acquisition and growth plans
Conversia, acquired during the year, delivered more than 20% full-year revenue growth on a pro forma basis and 26% growth during Wilmington’s ownership period, ahead of management’s expectations. The Spanish company provides regulatory-compliance services to small and medium-sized enterprises, self-employed professionals, property managers and homeowners associations.
Conversia CEO Alfonso Corral said the business combines tailored documentation, specialist guidance, training and technology to help customers address data protection and other regulatory requirements. The company serves about 31,000 SME customers through its tech-enabled service, while its Signo digital platform enrolled approximately 19,000 customers in its first year.
Corral said Conversia’s revenue increased from €27.1 million in 2013 to €44.7 million in 2016, while its net renewal ratio increased from 75.3% to 84.6%. The company operates two headquarters and 31 branches, employing 503 full-time equivalent staff.
Chief Revenue Officer Jordi Gimenez said Conversia has less than 2% penetration of the Spanish SME market, which management sees as a substantial growth opportunity. He said Signo has not materially cannibalized the company’s existing service model: all of its customers were new to Conversia, with only five cases of customers seeking to move from the tech-enabled service to the digital product.
Conversia said it expects a new Spanish electronic-invoicing requirement to create a commercial opportunity. The company has developed a digital solution within Signo to help customers comply. Management said it remains focused on Spain in the near term, though it sees potential for its SME-focused digital offering in markets including Italy and Germany.
RegTech platform and AI strategy
Milner said Wilmington has repositioned itself as a governance, risk and compliance, or GRC, RegTech business-services group and has changed its London Stock Exchange sector classification from media to business services.
The company is consolidating its brands onto a common technology stack, with the exception of recently acquired Conversia, which had redeveloped its own platform before the acquisition. Wilmington identified five components of its RegTech platform: regulatory intelligence, compliance technology, learning and accreditation, professional community, and AI and automation.
Milner said the approach is intended to reduce technology duplication, improve product-development speed, consolidate procurement and engineering resources, and support improved customer retention and upselling. The company said platform efficiencies and AI had already delivered six-figure savings in FY 2026.
Wilmington has logged more than 90 AI initiatives across its businesses, with more than 35 already live or in daily use and a further 30 in development. Examples included an ICA AI tutor based on the company’s course materials, faster review of complex tender documents, and projected annual savings of 735 hours in course development at one business.
The company said it requires human oversight in its AI applications, particularly because customers use its services to meet regulatory obligations. Milner also cited internal testing in which Wilmington brands were mentioned or recommended in 93% of 200 unbranded AI-search tests across 10 brands and four models.
Outlook and capital allocation
Wilmington said current trading was in line with market expectations, with solid first-quarter revenue across all businesses. It expects further debt reduction following the Conversia acquisition, with net debt below two times EBITDA at year-end and more than £10 million currently available in its £80 million debt facility.
Management said acquisitions remain its preferred use of available capital, alongside investment in technology and staff, sustainable dividend growth and leverage reduction. The company continues to assess acquisition opportunities both for standalone businesses and businesses that could be integrated into its technology platform.
About Wilmington (LON:WIL)
Wilmington acts as trusted partner to customers who are operating in regulated sectors and in the governance, risk and compliance markets. We provide critical data and information to enable our customers to make the decisions needed to maintain compliance with the rules and regulations that apply to them; and we provide training and education to equip our customers with the knowledge and skills to carry out their activities in line with best practice.
