Selkirk Group is an AIM-listed shell company with no trading business. It exists to buy an undervalued UK company and give it a stock-market listing through a reverse takeover (buying a company in a deal that gets the target listed). It raised £7.5m at its November 2024 flotation and promised a deal within 18 months. That deadline has passed with no deal, and the shares trade below the 2.4p issue price.
A cash shell hunting for one deal
Selkirk has no products or customers. It holds cash and looks for a target. The company says it wants a business headquartered in the UK, focused on consumer, e-commerce, technology or digital media, that it thinks is undervalued. It would then either list that business or take over an existing public company and back a highly incentivised management team.
The company earns nothing from operations. Its only income is interest on bank deposits, which it says covers more than 60% of routine running costs. Running costs are about £25,000 a month before deal costs. Due diligence and adviser fees on specific targets come on top. It says it screens targets with its partners Belerion Capital and Kelso. 30 Sep 2026 8 Apr 2026 30 Sep 2025
Flotation and an 18-month promise
Selkirk joined AIM on 7 November 2024. It raised £7.5m at 2.4p a share, giving a market value of £10m, with about 416m shares in issue. Net proceeds were about £7.1m. The board said it was confident it could identify and deliver a transaction within eighteen months, which put the deadline around May 2026.
The shares opened that month at 3.2p, then slid to 2.4p by March 2025. 7 Nov 2024 8 Apr 2026
The MyProtein bid that failed
In April 2025 Selkirk made a conditional offer of £400m to £600m for MyProtein, owned by THG. THG rejected it on valuation and structure grounds. The company has not said how it would have funded a deal many times larger than its £7m of cash.
Selkirk said it would keep working its pipeline. The shares rose to 3.2p in May 2025, the high of the period. They fell back to 2.6p by June and 2.4p by September. 23 Apr 2025 30 Sep 2025
No deal, and a deadline that moved
Through 2025 and into 2026 the company reported only that it was assessing opportunities and talking to several candidates. It named no target. It met its reporting promises: interim results on 30 September 2025, and first audited accounts on 8 April 2026, inside its end-of-April commitment.
The 18-month window ran out around May 2026 with no deal. On 6 May 2026 shareholders approved extending the investment policy until the next AGM or until the policy is substantially implemented. The board had said that without approval it would propose an amended policy or consider returning capital to shareholders. The shares ended 2025 at 1.9p and hit 1.6p in July 2026. 30 Sep 2025 8 Apr 2026 30 Sep 2026 20 Feb 2025
Why the record is thin
The facts show one root issue. The company set a deal deadline and did not meet it. The only named bid, for MyProtein, was far larger than Selkirk's cash and was turned down on price and structure. The company has not said why other discussions have not reached a deal.
The cost of waiting is visible. Interest income has not offset costs in full, so cash has drifted down. The price has stayed under the issue price for most of the period since the flotation. 23 Apr 2025 8 Apr 2026 30 Sep 2026 7 Nov 2024
Disciplined, but spending more
Iain McDonald, Executive Chairman, is the only executive the company names. He says the board will advance a deal only when the target is suitable for a public listing and will be earnings enhancing for Selkirk. The board says it will stay disciplined on valuation and execution risk.
Costs have gone up. Other administrative expenses in the first half of 2026 were £462k, against £190k a year earlier. The company ties this to due diligence work. Staff costs were £41k. A £68k non-cash charge for share-based payments also hit the first half. Management has so far added no new people or strategy. 30 Sep 2026 8 Apr 2026
“We have a highly disciplined transaction approach and will only progress when we know that the target will be suitable for a public listing and will be earnings enhancing for Selkirk.” 30 Sep 2026
£6.7m left, still searching
For the six months to 30 June 2026 Selkirk lost £460k, up from £145k a year earlier. Interest income was £111k. Cash fell from £6.9m at December 2025 to £6.7m at 30 June 2026, and the company has no debt. Net assets were £6.5m.
The latest close was 1.8p on 16 October 2026. On 7 August 2026 Spreadex Ltd reported a holding of 3.3%, up from below 3%. 30 Sep 2026 8 Apr 2026 7 Aug 2026
A new, later deadline
With the interim results on 30 September 2026, the directors said they expect a reverse takeover within 12 months of the date of those statements, so by about September 2027. The first target was a deal within 18 months of the November 2024 admission, which was around May 2026. The date has moved back by about 16 months.
The company says it has ongoing talks with several candidates. It also says its cash gives it room to act. The open questions are whether it finds a target at a price it accepts and whether shareholders keep backing the policy. Each month of waiting uses cash. The investment policy extension runs only until the next AGM unless the policy is substantially implemented by then. 30 Sep 2026 7 Nov 2024 8 Apr 2026
Written by AI from Selkirk Group Plc's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources