Braemar is a London-listed shipbroker. It advises shipowners, charterers and energy companies on hiring ships, buying and selling them, and hedging freight and energy prices. Revenue peaked at £153m in FY23 and has slid to £136m in FY26 as tanker and dry cargo rates weakened, and the dividend has nearly halved. Founder-era CEO James Gundy handed over to Grant Foley on 2 July 2026, with a target of £200m revenue by FY30 still in place.
Brokers for ships, cargoes and freight risk
Braemar's brokers match clients with ships and advise on deals. The company joined the Official List in November 1997. It has three segments. Investment Advisory covers sale and purchase of ships and corporate finance. Chartering covers deep-sea tankers, specialised offshore tankers and dry cargo. Risk Advisory, also called Securities, trades coal, natural gas and freight derivatives.
The group has 19 offices, with the first African office opened in Cape Town in July 2025. Its financial year ends in February. Chartering is the biggest segment and the one most exposed to the shipping cycle. Risk Advisory is the smallest, and management wants it to grow. 5 Nov 2025 29 May 2025 21 May 2026
Back to shipbroking, debt cut, new desks added
Gundy ran ACM, which merged with Braemar in 2014, and became Group CEO about five and a half years before 2026. His stated priorities were to cut debt, return to core shipbroking and build out only where Braemar had real expertise. The chair says he sold non-core operations at a profit and removed a significant debt burden.
The company bought Atlantic Securities in 2017 to enter securities and derivatives. In FY23 it added Southport Maritime in the US and a tanker desk in Madrid. FY23 revenue rose 51% to £153m, and underlying operating profit doubled to £20m. 21 May 2026 16 Nov 2023 29 Nov 2023
“We were disciplined - growing only where we truly understood the market and could add real value for clients.” 21 May 2026
An internal investigation and a restored listing
In June 2023 Braemar began an independent internal investigation. It delayed the FY23 results to November 2023. Shares were restored to the Official List on 21 November 2023, after the accounts came out. The company has not said in these reports what the investigation covered. It cost £2.6m in FY24.
The shares rose from 233p in October 2023 to 281p in November. 26 Oct 2023 16 Nov 2023 21 Nov 2023 23 May 2024
Chartering rates fall, revenue and dividend shrink
FY24 revenue held at £153m because the new acquisitions and Risk Advisory offset weaker rates. Then chartering weakened further. FY25 revenue fell 7% to £142m, and the dividend dropped from 13p to 7p. By H1 FY26 tanker rates were down 29% and dry cargo 17% on a year earlier. Revenue fell 16% in that half. Management also blamed tariffs, sanctions and a weaker dollar. The interim dividend fell to 2.5p from 4.5p.
The shares slid from 311p in July 2024 to 210p in June 2025. A £2m buyback ran from May to 1 September 2025. 23 May 2024 29 May 2025 5 Nov 2025
“Softer chartering rates, ongoing political volatility, and a weaker US dollar, combined to impact the Group's financial performance in the Period.” 5 Nov 2025
A £200m plan for FY30
In May 2025 Braemar set targets. By FY30 it wants £200m of revenue, £30m from Risk Advisory, a 15% underlying operating margin, and net debt below 1.5 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) in every year. For FY26 it set one-year goals: hire 10 brokers, enter one new country, globalise tanker operations and complete one acquisition.
FY26 delivered the Cape Town office, senior hires, a global tanker operations team and a UK Organised Trading Facility (a regulated trading venue) for Risk Advisory. The FY26 report lists no acquisition. Instead, an acquisition goal reappears among the FY27 targets. In December 2025 and January 2026 Braemar issued about one million shares as payment for the earlier Southport deal. 29 May 2025 21 May 2026 15 Dec 2025 5 Jan 2026
Diversification cushioned the fall, not stopped it
Risk Advisory and sale and purchase advice softened the downturn. Revenue fell 4% in FY26 against a swing in rates. But underlying operating profit before acquisition costs has dropped from £20m in FY23 to £13m in FY26. In FY25 it stood 88% above FY21, short of the doubling management had been aiming for.
Governance drew pushback. Remuneration resolutions saw 42% and 45% votes against at the 2023 and 2024 meetings. In June 2025 the UK's National Crime Agency froze an account holding a $2.5m provision for historic transactions from 2006 to 2013. The company expects to release the provision in due course. 21 May 2026 29 May 2025 18 Dec 2023 3 Jul 2024 11 Jun 2025
Gundy steps back, Foley steps up
Gundy announced in February 2026 that he would step down as CEO and director at the 2 July 2026 AGM. He stays as a broker. He says revenue is up 62% and underlying operating profit up 71% over his tenure. Foley joined as CFO in August 2023, took on operations in June 2025 and became CEO on 2 July 2026. Richard Heading joined as CFO on 29 June 2026.
Chief operating officer Tristram Simmonds left in March 2025 after selling some shares. Gundy, Foley and the finance director bought small stakes in November 2024. The 2026 AGM backed the remuneration report with 89% of votes. Braemar replaced BDO with MHA as auditor after a tender in October 2026. 17 Feb 2026 21 May 2026 7 Mar 2025 25 Jun 2026 22 Nov 2024 25 Nov 2024 2 Jul 2026 9 Oct 2026
Smaller than the peak, with debt back to zero
FY26 revenue was £135.6m and underlying operating profit before acquisition costs £13.2m, in line with the guidance given in May 2025. Statutory pre-tax profit halved to £4.6m. Net debt was £2.9m at year end but the group returned to net cash in March 2026. The dividend held at 7p.
The first half of FY27 looks better. Revenue rose 16% to £74.3m and net debt was zero. The Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz lifted freight rates, and the chair called it the biggest shipping disruption since the 2021 Suez blockage. In September 2026 Braemar launched a power broking desk in Dubai under Risk Advisory. The shares stood at 237p in October 2026. 21 May 2026 25 Mar 2026 29 Sep 2026 14 Sep 2026
Hiring, an acquisition and the FY30 target
The company has kept the £200m by FY30 target, with a 15% margin. For FY27 it plans to hire 10 brokers, open one new Risk Advisory desk, embed AI and complete one complementary acquisition. A Dubai financial centre office was approved in May 2026. European trading facility approval was expected in the first half of FY27, and the company has not said whether it came.
Management expects the first-half investments, including senior hires and the power desk, to turn into profit growth in the second half. Analyst consensus in July 2026 was £140m revenue and £14m underlying operating profit for FY27. 21 May 2026 29 Sep 2026 2 Jul 2026 14 Sep 2026
Written by AI from Braemar's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources