Picture supply: Getty Photographs
When on the lookout for low-cost UK shares, a few of the finest bargains can usually be discovered on the backside of the efficiency league tables. Certainly, solely six FTSE 250 shares have carried out worse than Shut Brothers Group (LSE:CBG) over the previous 5 years. Since March 2021, its shares have crashed 78%.
Beneath the highlight
For instance, on 10 January 2024, the FCA publicly introduced its evaluate. Over the next 5 weeks, the group’s shares crashed 61%.
On 1 August 2025, the Supreme Court docket upheld the group’s attraction overturning earlier judgements made in three circumstances introduced by debtors. Within the phrases of the corporate: “[this] determined that motor dealers (acting as a credit broker) do not owe fiduciary duties to their customers.” Over the following seven days, its share value soared 30%.
In the mean time, the FCA is consulting on an industry-wide redress scheme. Nevertheless, Shut Brothers says it “does not believe the current redress methodology proposed… appropriately reflects actual customer loss or achieves a proportionate outcome”.
Déjà vu
On Monday (16 March), the group’s shares tanked 13.9%.
This adopted the publication of a report by Viceroy, an “independent investigative research group”, suggesting that Shut Brothers is under-estimating the true price of compensation. It claims the group’s “exhausted” its efforts to maintain its capital base, is promoting off subsidiaries, and is suspending its dividend, giving it little monetary firepower ought to the result be worse than anticipated.
Viceroy says the group must “at least” double its present provision of £300m. Its analysis suggests a possible vary of outcomes of £572m-£1.232bn. In excessive circumstances, this might result in a breach of regulatory reserve necessities. Its base case (£999m) “indicates that equity-holders will be substantially wiped out in a restructure”.
That is critical stuff. However it’s just one opinion. The corporate responded by saying it “disagrees” and defined that its “provisioning approach” — which “follows a robust governance process” — is in accordance with worldwide accounting requirements.
Newest outcomes
Yesterday (17 March), the group launched its outcomes for the six months ended 31 January.
Based mostly on adjusted earnings over the previous yr, the inventory’s buying and selling on a a number of of simply 6.5. Remarkably, the group’s market cap is roughly £1bn decrease than its ebook (accounting) worth. On the finish of January, its tangible internet asset worth per share was 870p, in comparison with a share value on the time of 505p.
On paper not less than, it seems to be like a cut price.
Nevertheless, given all this uncertainty, it could be too dangerous for me to take a place. I shall revisit the funding case when issues change into just a little clearer. Within the meantime, I’m going to have a look at another attention-grabbing alternatives.
