SDI Group plc
SDI Group plc is an AIM-quoted UK 'buy and build' compounder that acquires and develops niche scientific, industrial and technology manufacturing businesses, operating 17 established subsidiary businesses (plus Collins Walker integrated into LTE) across three divisions: Laboratory Equipment, Industrial & Scientific Sensors, and Industrial & Scientific Products. For the year ended 30 April 2026, the Group generated £74.5m revenue, retaining acquired companies' operational autonomy under a decentralised management model while providing central financial and strategic support and executing further bolt-on acquisitions.
FY2026 in sixty seconds
year to 30 Apr 2026 · approved 29 Jul 2026 · 122 pages · Companies House
SDI Group plc buys and runs small specialist businesses that make scientific and industrial equipment. In the year to 30 April 2026, revenue rose to £74.5m from £66.2m, and profit before tax rose to £6.5m from £5.5m.
Growth came partly from the businesses it already owned, where growth sped up to 7.6% in the second half of the year. It also came from two companies it bought, Severn Thermal Solutions and PRP Optoelectronics, and from large defence, government and aerospace contracts. Reported profit is reduced by accounting charges linked to past purchases and by reorganisation and deal costs. Higher National Insurance and wage costs, and weaker chiller sales at one business, also held profit back.
The company spent £12.7m on acquisitions, mostly with borrowed money. Borrowings rose to £26.9m, against £2.9m of cash at the year end. No dividend was paid because the board prefers to put cash into buying more businesses. Management expects next year's results to match what market analysts forecast, citing a strong order book. The auditor gave a clean opinion and raised no doubt about the company's ability to keep trading.
Organic growth across all three divisions, with 7.6% H2 organic revenue growth
Group revenues increased 12.6% to £74.5m; excluding acquisitions, organic revenue grew 5.5% in absolute terms, accelerating to 7.6% in H2
page 31National Insurance, National Minimum Wage and apprenticeship levy increases
Full-year impact of NI/NMW increases and apprenticeship levy raised operating costs
page 32Backed by a strong order book and the positive momentum generated by our total 7.6% H2 organic growth, we expect our FY27 performance to be in line with market expectations, and remain confident that we will deliver sustainable, compounding and long-term value for all our shareholders.
page 29No dividend paid to ordinary shareholders in FY26 (or FY25); Board prefers to reinvest cash into acquisitions as the more appropriate capital allocation strategy for a growth company, but keeps the policy under review
page 2412 years on one page · FY2015–FY2026
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GBP millions, negatives in brackets. Per-share lines in pence. Share counts in millions. Margins and returns as percentages, calculated from the filed figures. later is what a following report restated the figure to; vs is a second reading that disagrees. The figure shown is the one the original filing printed, and both readings are kept. Click any figure: opens the report page it was read from, highlighted; shows how it was calculated.
4 figures restated in a later report
Every figure is read again from the following year’s report: 469 confirmed, 30 differ, 4 restated.
No figure has been restated: every figure a later report printed again, it printed the same.
4 more figures were restated in FY2015 to FY2023, which a free account opens.