Close Brothers Group

CBG.L

Financial - Capital Markets · Financial Services

Exchange

London Stock Exchange

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Weak fundamentals across most pillars.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jan 31, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Weak

Growth

Weak

Cash Flow

Mixed

Stability

Weak

Valuation

Data not available

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Winston Score History

The full picture

Close Brothers Group is a UK-based merchant bank that provides lending, deposit-taking, and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as individual customers. Its main divisions include business loans, motor finance, property lending, and a wealth management arm called Investec Wealth & Investment (UK) following a recent transaction. It also operates Winterflood Securities, a market-making business that trades shares on behalf of other financial firms.

The company earns money through interest on loans, fees from wealth management, and trading income from its market-making operations. It works almost entirely in the United Kingdom. Close Brothers built its reputation on niche lending markets where big banks compete less aggressively, giving it a degree of pricing power. However, the business is currently under significant pressure due to a UK regulatory review into historical motor finance commission practices, which has created large potential liabilities and pushed operating margins into negative territory — this legal and regulatory outcome is the central risk facing the company today.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-50.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+39.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Strong earnings growth

Insider Activity

2.9%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

£11.7B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue declining

Close Brothers Group's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

21.9%

Thin — 21.9% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

-18.3%

Losing money on operations — -18.3%

Return on the money invested

ROCE

-0.4%

Weak — -0.4% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

-44.7%

Shrinking sales (-44.7% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

3/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

N/A

Data not available

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

59.6%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (59.6%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

1.62

Elevated debt (1.62)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

N/A

Data not available

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

no trend

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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