Norman Broadbent reports lower Q1 net fee income, maintains expectations

21st Apr 2026 13:11

(Sharecast News) - Norman Broadbent reported lower net fee income in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a strong prior-year comparator on Tuesday, as it continued to invest in headcount growth and maintained its full-year outlook.

Net fee income (NFI) for the three months ended 31 March was £2.2m, down from £3.0m in the same period last year, which the company said reflected a solid performance against a particularly strong comparative period.

The AIM-traded group noted that its monthly run-rate improved markedly after January, following a start to the year impacted by income that had been pulled forward into December.

During the quarter, Norman Broadbent added four net new fee earners through organic recruitment, in line with its strategy to expand fee-earning capacity.

The company also completed the acquisition of Society Limited in February, adding five full-time staff and broadening its platform capabilities.

"We started 2026 on the back of a record 2025 and with the fourth quarter our strongest quarter in over a decade," said chief executive Kevin Davidson.

"Q4 was bolstered by a very strong end to the year with a material element of NFI we anticipated securing in January pulled forward into December.

"The monthly run-rate during Q1 markedly improved after January.

"Together with our current visibility, this encouraging performance underpins our confidence in a further year of NFI growth in the 2026 financial year, in line with our expectations.

"We remain of the view that progress this year from one quarter to the next is likely to be non-linear and we obviously continue to monitor events in the Middle East carefully."

He added that the company's strategic goals for 2026 were "clear", being investing in headcount growth and developing the team to drive its fee-earner capacity; exploring options to accelerate growth through mergers and acquisitions where it made "strategic and financial sense"; and remaining "laser focused" on short-term performance, "exceptional" client delivery and leveraging its "winning culture".

"The Society acquisition in the quarter is consistent with our disciplined approach and complements our organic recruitment in the quarter as we add capability, sector depth and diversification.

"We are making good progress in building a stronger business and with our track record of navigating uncertainty we expect to make continued progress in the year and years ahead."

At 1115 BST, shares in Norman Broadbent were up 1.35% at 226p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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