LBG Media owns youth-focused social brands such as LADbible, SPORTbible and the US-based Betches. It earns money by making content for advertisers and by sharing ad revenue with social platforms. Over the last year the mix flipped: revenue from advertisers who pay it directly nearly doubled, while platform and website ad income fell by about 40%. Revenue rose in the half to March 2026, but adjusted EBITDA (profit before interest, tax, depreciation and one-off items) fell by a third, profit guidance was cut, and the shares sit far below their 2024 peak.
Brands for young adults, paid two ways
LBG Media runs brands aimed at young adults. LADbible and Betches are the main ones. Others cover single interests, such as SPORTbible for sport. Its content reaches about 0.5bn people across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X, YouTube, TikTok and its own websites.
It earns revenue in two ways. 'Direct' means making bespoke content for blue-chip advertisers, including Google, KFC, Tesco, Netflix, PepsiCo and Uber. 'Indirect' means social platforms and programmatic ad partners (automated ad buying) place adverts next to its content and share the revenue with it. Direct has lower margins than Indirect. The company has said Indirect margins were above 50% and expected Direct margins before central costs in the mid-20% range. 9 Jun 2026 4 Feb 2026
A US bet and a £200m ambition
In October 2023 the company bought Betches, a US digital publisher, for $24m up front and up to $30m more, tied to revenue and profit targets through 2026. By April 2024 management spoke of a 'clear line of sight' to £200m of revenue. FY23 revenue was £67.5m. In Australia and New Zealand it handed direct sales to a partner, Val Morgan Digital, to cut cost.
The shares were around 75-90p in the months after the deal and rose to 137p by September 2024. Direct revenue passed half of the total in the first half of 2024. 18 Oct 2023 18 Apr 2024 18 Sep 2024 22 Jan 2025
Facebook wobbles and the growth story flattens
In summer 2024 a change to Facebook's commercial model cut social revenue for a quarter. The company said it recovered. It moved its year-end to 30 September. In January 2025 it still pointed to line of sight to £200m and about 10% revenue growth in FY25.
FY25 delivered that growth: revenue was £92m, up 10% at constant currency, and adjusted EBITDA £25m. Direct grew 13%, while Indirect was flat, with social up and websites down. The CFO left in February 2025. The shares fell from 124p in January 2025 to 86p by April. The later announcements in the period do not repeat the £200m aim. 22 Jan 2025 13 Feb 2025 3 Feb 2026 4 Feb 2026
The pivot to Direct, and the Indirect slump
In February 2026 the company said it would accelerate spending on senior hires and sales teams in the UK and US Direct markets. It expected Direct to exceed 50% of revenue, possibly reaching 70%. It expected Direct growth in the low-to-mid teens, with margins before central costs in the mid-20% range. An initial 'mid-30%' figure was corrected the next day. It expected Indirect to grow at a low single-digit rate, with margins above 50%.
Direct grew far faster than that, but Indirect went the other way. In October 2025 management had said actions were expected to support a recovery in the Web business. Instead, Web revenue fell 36% in the first half to March 2026 and Social fell 44%. The company cites the Facebook algorithm change and lower search traffic because of Google-style AI Overviews. It also calls the shift away from websites 'structural'.
On 22 April 2026 the company raised revenue guidance to about £110m but cut EBITDA to about £22m. In June it cut both, as described below. The shares fell from 76p at the end of February to 40p at the end of April. 4 Feb 2026 22 Oct 2025 22 Apr 2026 9 Jun 2026
A new acquisition after the cut
On 19 June 2026 the company agreed to buy 75% of Uncovered, a Gen-Z creative agency, for £26.8m plus up to £7m of earn-out. Uncovered had FY25 revenue of £10.2m and adjusted EBITDA of £2.7m. The company expects double-digit EPS (earnings per share) accretion in the first full year and at least 50% revenue growth at Uncovered in 2026. It holds options to buy the remaining 25% in 2028-2030. 19 Jun 2026
Dependence on platforms the company does not control
The first cause of the slump was reliance on Facebook and on website traffic. Both are controlled by others, and both shrank in 2025-26. The company had flagged a Web decline in FY25, but the pace and the Social drop in 2026 were bigger than it forecast.
The second is the cost of the shift. Direct revenue is lower margin, and the company added sales staff. It also gave two large US clients lower margins to win bigger spend. Adjusted EBITDA margin fell from 28% in the first half of FY25 to 15% in the first half of FY26. The £200m ambition and the early-2026 Indirect and Direct-margin guidance have not held. 9 Jun 2026 3 Feb 2026 4 Feb 2026
New finance chief, new Indirect leadership, more Direct spend
Solly Solomou remains CEO. Darren Singer became CFO on 9 March 2026, after the post sat open following the February 2025 exit. Dave Wilson, who had been Executive Chair, returned to non-executive Chair. Carol Kane stepped down as a non-executive director in September 2026.
In the Indirect business, management cites cost controls, new leadership and AI-driven process changes, and says early benefits are visible. It has also invested in tools such as Mission Control (content tracking) and LAD Radar (trend spotting). Directors bought small amounts of stock in 2024 and early 2025. The ownership list shows no director buying after February 2025. Schroders disclosed a 5.04% holding in October 2026. 5 Mar 2026 11 Sep 2026 9 Jun 2026
Revenue up, profit down, cash still positive
In the six months to March 2026 revenue rose 19% to £52m. Direct was £38m, 72% of the total, and Indirect fell to £14.5m. Adjusted EBITDA was £8.0m and profit before tax £1.8m, against £8.6m a year earlier. US Direct grew 154% to £16m, and UK Direct grew 64% to £21m. Sixteen clients now pay more than $1m a year in the UK, up from 12. Social revenue has stabilised on a low base.
Net cash was £28.4m at 31 March. The Uncovered purchase came after that date, and the company has not said what cash remains. The latest close, on 19 October 2026, was 34.5p. The shares had traded as low as 27.4p at the end of September. 9 Jun 2026 19 Jun 2026
“Our 2026 financial year is a year of transition, towards long-term value.” 9 Jun 2026
A narrower, lower profit range for FY26
On 9 June 2026 the Board guided FY26 revenue to £100m-£107m and adjusted EBITDA to £15m-£20m. The low end of the EBITDA range assumes the current monthly trend in Indirect continues. The company expects Direct to make up the largest share of revenue in the medium to long term. It also sees room to grow YouTube social revenue and expects the Men's FIFA World Cup to drive client demand in the second half.
The open questions are whether Indirect stops shrinking and whether Direct margins recover. A further question is whether sales investment and the Uncovered deal lift profit in time. The company has not given a Direct margin figure for 2026 so far. 9 Jun 2026 22 Apr 2026 19 Jun 2026
Written by AI from LBG Media's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources