IG Group Holdings (IG), a leading global provider of trading and investment solutions, announced the acquisition of the rapidly rising zero commission self investment platform, Freedrade, for £ 160 million. This transaction is expected to be completed by mid-2025 and still requires approval from regulatory authorities. This is an important strategic move by IG Group to expand its presence and services in the UK market.
IG acquires Freedrade, targeting the UK trading and investment market. This acquisition will strengthen IG's trading and investment services in the UK. Freedrade has an innovative platform that offers over 6200 global stocks ETF、 Fragmented stocks and other financial products. Its simple and intuitive interface and transparent pricing model make it one of the fastest-growing investment platforms in the UK. As of 2024, Freetrade has reached 720000 clients and managed assets (AUA) of £ 25 billion
IG Group CEO Breon Corcoran said, "This is a rare opportunity not only to strengthen our trading and investment services in the UK, but also to expand our target market. Freedrade has a strong brand, highly scalable technology, and rapid growth momentum, which is highly consistent with IG's strategic goals
Market performance and position of Freetrade
In recent years, Freetrade has performed remarkably well. In 2024, its revenue increased by 32% year-on-year, reaching £ 27.5 million, and achieved positive EBITDA for the first time. Its high customer retention rate and ability to attract high net worth clients have further driven steady business growth.
After the acquisition is completed, Freedrade will operate as an independent brand, with the existing management team remaining unchanged, led by co-founder and CEO Viktor Nebehaj. IG plans to further invest in expanding Freedrade's product line, enhancing its technological capabilities, and increasing its marketing efforts to support rapid business development,
Regarding this acquisition, Viktor Nebehaj stated:
This cooperation has brought us great development opportunities, which can further accelerate the landing of new products and features on our award-winning platform. IG's vision for Freetrade is completely consistent with ours, and their support will be an important help for us to achieve business expansion.
The future development plan of Freedrade is that the funds for this transaction will be paid in cash from IG's existing capital resources. As of May 2024, IG reported a regulatory capital surplus of £ 638 million, and the group's financial condition remains robust after the completion of the transaction. It is expected that this acquisition will achieve an investment return rate exceeding IG's weighted average cost of capital within 3 to 5 years,
Analysts believe that this acquisition is an effective utilization of IG's resources. Although it will not have a significant impact on the group's balance sheet in the short term, in the long run, this transaction allows IG to seize the growth opportunity in the UK's self managed investment market. It is predicted that the market will continue to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 10% in the future.
Through this acquisition, 1G has taken a crucial step in the field of consumer investment. With Freedrade's high scalability technology and strong customer growth capabilities, coupled with IG's resources and professional support, IG is expected to occupy a greater leading position in the UK financial market.
