Next 15 is an AIM-listed group of marketing, data and technology agencies, with clients such as Google, Amazon and the Department for Education. After the loss of its biggest contract and a misconduct scandal at its Mach49 unit, it cut its portfolio from 22 businesses to 10, and by August 2026 it was growing again for the first time in three years. A Mach49 arbitration over a possible earn-out liability of tens of millions of pounds is still unresolved.
Data, retail media and government digital work
Next 15 operates in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. It reports five segments: Retail Media, Data and Research, Digital Transformation, Marketing and Communications, and Creative Services. Its clients include Google, Amazon, Boots, Dow, Microsoft, Dell, American Express and Procter & Gamble.
Management now splits the group into two tracks. Track 1 is the growth core: SMG (retail media), Transform (digital transformation, largely for government), Savanta (research), Pretzl (B2B marketing), M Booth and M Booth Health, plus the digital commerce arm of Elvis. Track 2 is Activate, Brandwidth, Marker and MHP.
Client mix has shifted. Consumer & Retail and Technology are still the two largest sectors, but the Public Sector is now third and fastest-growing. 8 Oct 2026 7 May 2026
A lost contract and a falling margin
In September 2024 Next 15 announced it had lost a significant Mach49 contract. Mach49 is a US innovation-consulting business the group had bought. The loss cut about £7m from revenue in the year to January 2025 and was due to remove £75.9m in the following year. The shares fell from 850p at the end of August 2024 to 454p a month later.
Tech-sector clients were also spending less. For FY25 reported adjusted operating profit fell 11% to £107m, and the margin fell from 21.0% to 18.9%. In January 2025 the company said profit would land at the bottom of expectations and announced a cost-saving programme. 15 Apr 2025 30 Jan 2025
Misconduct at Mach49 and a new CEO
On 25 June 2025 Next 15 terminated three senior Mach49 managers over potential misconduct and withheld an earn-out (deferred purchase payment) that carried a $91.2m liability. The matter was reported to law enforcement. The former Mach49 owners went to confidential arbitration, and Next 15 counterclaimed for earn-out money already paid. Mach49 was wound down and fully discontinued by 31 January 2026.
The next day Tim Dyson retired as CEO after 33 years. Sam Knights, who had run the SMG retail media business, replaced him. The company also warned that profit would be materially below the prior year. The shares closed June 2025 at 241p.
The balance sheet now carries £68.9m of contingent consideration. In May 2026 the directors reported a material uncertainty over the group's ability to continue as a going concern, arising solely from the arbitration. 25 Jun 2025 26 Jun 2025 28 Aug 2025 7 May 2026
“The Board cannot entirely exclude the possibility of a material adverse financial outcome which could exceed the current forecast liquidity in the longer term.” 7 May 2026
From 22 businesses to 10
Knights set out to simplify the group. By September 2025 it had sold Palladium and BYND and was merging Savanta with Plinc and House 337 with Elvis. It combined four B2B tech marketing agencies into one business, later launched as Pretzl. In October 2025 it sold majority stakes in Blueshirt Group and BCA. Talks with Epiris over a sale of selected brands ended in November 2025.
Headcount fell from 3,992 to 3,350 in FY26, and restructuring delivered about £26m of annualised savings. The Capital Markets Day on 28 January 2026 set out the new strategy. In July 2026 the part sale of Elvis took the portfolio to 10 businesses, with about half of Elvis revenue kept.
Cost cuts held the adjusted margin near 15% while revenue fell. FY26 net revenue dropped 6% to £449m, and the group made a statutory loss before tax of £13m on Mach49 costs and impairments. The shares closed March 2026 at 226p, then recovered. 30 Sep 2025 28 Oct 2025 5 Nov 2025 28 Jan 2026 7 May 2026 8 Jul 2026 8 Oct 2026
Concentration and earn-outs cost the group dearly
The group leaned heavily on one big Mach49 contract and on technology clients, and both weakened. Tech clients cut spending to prioritise AI, and revenue from creative production fell. The Mach49 acquisition left an earn-out dispute that has produced statutory losses, legal costs and a going-concern warning.
The response has worked on costs and mix. Margin held near 15% while revenue shrank, working capital swung to a £43.8m inflow in FY26, and Digital Transformation and public-sector work grew. Overall revenue is still not growing: first-half net revenue fell 1.3% like-for-like.
The company has not said why the Mach49 misconduct went undetected. 7 May 2026 30 Sep 2025 8 Oct 2026
A new team, with the founder-era CEO gone
Sam Knights joined SMG in 2012, became its CEO in 2020 and took over the group in June 2025. Mickey Kalifa became CFO on 1 June 2025. COO Jonathan Peachey left the board in October 2025. Mark Astaire, a non-executive director who bought shares in November 2025 and May 2026, was named chair designate to succeed Penny Ladkin-Brand at the July 2026 AGM.
Management's record is mixed. It met its January 2026 expectations (£66.6m of adjusted operating profit expected; £67.6m delivered) and has cut the portfolio in half. It has not yet produced revenue growth or settled the arbitration.
Richard Griffiths and his controlled undertakings hold 15.56%, Octopus 10.99% and Liontrust about 9.97%. Dyson's holding fell from 4.78% to 3.8% in August 2026. 26 Jun 2025 26 Mar 2025 30 Sep 2025 10 Mar 2026 6 Nov 2025 11 May 2026 28 Jan 2026 7 May 2026 9 Oct 2026 3 Jun 2026 12 Jun 2026 24 Aug 2026
Growth is back, profit is flat, debt is up
In the six months to July 2026, net revenue was £215m and adjusted operating profit £32m, close to a year earlier, with the margin up to 14.9%. Organic revenue grew in each month from June to August 2026, the first sustained growth in three years. Track 1 grew 1.8% at an 18.4% margin, with Digital Transformation up 26.8%. Transform booked £160m of work in the half, including Defra and the Department for Education.
The statutory result was a £1.5m pre-tax loss on Mach49 and acquisition-related costs. Net debt rose to £57.3m, or 0.7 times EBITDA, after earn-out payments, tax and capital spending. The interim dividend stayed at 4.75p. The hearing in the Mach49 arbitration has finished and the group awaits a ruling. The shares were at 310p at the latest close on 9 October 2026. 8 Oct 2026 8 Jul 2026
“We continue to maintain a robust defence and expect a ruling within this financial year.” 8 Oct 2026
Growth, disposals and a ruling
Management's FY27 goal was set on 28 January 2026: like-for-like revenue growth and a further improvement in operating profit and margin. In October 2026 the Board said it expects like-for-like revenue growth for the full year, with revenue and adjusted operating profit in line with market expectations. It expects the mix to differ: stronger Digital Transformation, offset by disposals and slower recovery elsewhere. Discretionary and technology client spend remains constrained.
Three priorities frame the second half: conclude the Mach49 arbitration, finish the time-boxed portfolio review with further disposals under way, and scale AI across Track 1. SMG's RMX retail media platform enters beta in December. The dividend is payable on 20 November 2026. The company has not reported a material impact from the Middle East conflict. 8 Oct 2026 28 Jan 2026 7 May 2026
Written by AI from Next 15 Group's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources