CMC Markets Founder Intends to Buy Up to £5 Million of Shares

CMC Markets founder and chief executive Lord Peter Cruddas has signalled his intention to invest as much as £5 million in the London-listed broker's own shares, starting with an initial transaction completed on Friday. The CEO bought 23,011 ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange at prices just above 604 pence each, a purchase worth roughly £139,000.

That trade leaves about £4.86 million available for further on-market buying under the stated maximum. The company stressed that the £5 million figure reflects current intent rather than a binding commitment, and said there is no certainty over how many additional shares Cruddas will acquire, or the timing, price and final value of any future transactions. Further purchases would depend on market conditions, require clearance under CMC's share-dealing rules and fall under disclosure obligations for senior executive transactions.

Limited impact on control

Cruddas founded CMC Markets in 1989 and remains its controlling shareholder with roughly 64.6% of the company. At around 604 pence, the full £5 million would buy approximately 828,000 shares. Assuming the share count stays unchanged, that would lift his holding by only about 0.3 percentage points, leaving his control of the business effectively unchanged.

"As founder and long-term CEO, I am adding more shares to my investment in the company," Cruddas said, adding that he intends to make further investments in the near term. The purchases are a personal investment by the CEO rather than a corporate buyback: no company funds are being used and the shares acquired will remain outstanding.

Cruddas paid about 604 pence per share, below the previous session's 658-pence close. CMC Markets finished Friday at 632 pence, down roughly 4%. The buying follows a stronger financial year for the broker. In preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2026, CMC reported net operating income of £392.6 million, up 15% from £340.1 million, while profit before tax rose 20% to £101.3 million. The full-year dividend increased 21% to 13.8 pence per share. CMC is due to publish its first-half 2027 results in November, and any further purchases by Cruddas will require separate market disclosures once completed.