GBG holds its cut growth guidance as core revenue rises 4.5%
Location growth and Identity growth outside the Americas carry the first half, while customer losses there bring cost cuts and an impairment charge and the fraud unit stays under review
- Expected first-half adjusted operating profit: £27.0m, against £29.5m a year earlier
- GBG attributes the profit fall to extra GBG Go spending, part of a one-off £6m investment announced in June and due to end in FY27
- Excluding DataTools, acquired in October 2025, organic constant currency growth was 0.4% for the group and 3.4% for the core segments
- Nine sell-side analyst updates since mid-August put FY27 revenue at £288m–£292m, according to GBG
GBG is splitting its portfolio between a core it is still spending on and a fraud unit whose future is open. The extra GBG Go spending has survived a guidance cut and a lower first-half profit, marking the platform as a main route back to growth for the board. The cost actions and the change in Americas sales leadership point to a company protecting margin while, on GBG's own account, the revenue lost in the Americas is unlikely to be made up this financial year.
“The continued resilience of the Group, together with an increased pace of change to simplify and sharpen its focus, are the foundations for our full year and medium-term outlook.”Dev Dhiman, chief executive, GBG
GB Group (GBG), the identity and location technology company, expects first-half revenue of £139.5m, growth of 1.4% at constant currency, it said in a pre-close trading update on 20 October. Location and Identity, its core segments at about 95% of revenue, grew 4.5%.
Location grew 8.9%, which GBG put down to enterprise channel partnerships and the Asia-Pacific region. Identity grew 2.4%. GBG said double-digit growth outside the Americas came from gaming and financial services customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and from volume ramp-up at new customers of its GBG Go identity platform.
Cost cuts follow the Americas setback
In an update on 14 August, GBG said higher-than-expected volume attrition at a few material customers had held back growth in Americas Identity. It cut its revenue growth guidance for the financial year to March 2027 (FY27) to 1–3% from mid-single digit and said Tom Schutz, chief revenue officer for the Americas, had left, with chief operating officer James Gothard taking interim responsibility.
GBG said it has since accelerated cost efficiency actions to mitigate the lost revenue and, with its transformation and simplification work, incurred about £4.5m of exceptional costs in the half. It kept that FY27 range and expects adjusted operating profit in line with current market expectations. It also expects a non-cash goodwill impairment charge on Americas Identity, and said it would set out its plan to recover momentum in the region at its interim results on 24 November.
Global Fraud Solutions, a non-core unit worth about 5% of revenue, declined more than expected. GBG blamed the timing of license renewals, higher customer churn and fewer new wins, and said it continues to assess strategic options for the business, which it said remains profitable and cash generative.
Sources
- GB Group, “Pre-close 1H27 trading update”, RNS announcement, 20 October 2026. https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/gb-group--gbg/trading-statement/9830627
- GB Group, “Americas Identity trading update”, RNS announcement, 14 August 2026. https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/gb-group--gbg/americas-identity-trading-update/9721532
