AnchorCore SE (formerly learnd SE) will release its H1 26 report on September 30th. We expect a solid performance from learnd UK and Ireland while AnchorCore remains in transformation, including the holding name.
Anchoring the transformation with a new holding name. On July 7th, the holding announced its renaming into AnchorCore SE, while its 49.5% stake in learnd UK and Ireland Group (legally learnd Atlas Ltd.) retained its name. We view this as a clear signal formalizing the strategic shift following the sizeable MBO of 50.5% of learnd UK and Ireland Group to the founders.
The rebranding accomplishes two things: It allows AnchorCore SE to differentiate itself from the learnd operating brand and it emphasizes the strategic flexibility for future acquisitions of equity stakes with potential to leverage its key expertise to act as an incubator to young firms.
For its 49.5% equity stake in learnd UK and Ireland we anticipate the following development:
H1 sales of learnd UK and Ireland are seen to grow by 14.5% yoy to € 34m. To recap, approximately 80% of revenues are recurring, providing a stable commercial base largely independent of short-term economic developments. Furthermore, the company is actively expanding its market share in UK and Ireland, from which we expect strong additional gains. While the current construction environment proved challenging in H1 with yoy falling construction output in UK in every month (source: Trading Economics), we expect project-based growth to come in only moderately stronger. For Q2 26, this implies sales of € 17.2m (eNuW).
H1 adj. EBITDA of learnd UK and Ireland is seen to accelerate significantly by 96.8% to € 5.1m, at a margin of 15%. Mind you, in Q1 26 adj. EBITDA already came in at € 2.9m at a strong margin of 17.3%. Following this strong margin mix at the start of the year, we assume the margin to come in at a normalized and healthy 12.8% in Q2, implying an adj. EBITDA contribution of € 2.2m (eNuW).
For AnchorCore we expect no cash inflows from its stake just yet, while operating cost of € 1.8m (eNuW) in H1 look set to reduce the cash base. This reflects a large part of its administrative cost base typically incurred early in the year.
Looking ahead, further steps in a gradual transformation of AnchorCore into an incubator for companies operating in facility management and environmental services should follow. In the mid-term AnchorCore looks likely to capture potential with portfolio additions. learnd Atlas Ltd. is seen to raise margins by 1pp per year with scaling and operational improvements. Based on the sum-of-the-parts approach, containing the 49.5%-stake in learnd UK and Ireland, the Net Cash base reduced by the operating costs to € 1m (eNuW) and a holding discount of 10%, we confirm BUY, but slightly lower our estimated fair value to € 4.6 (previously € 4.8).
ISIN: LU2358378979
