Chaleit Holdings - cyber security IPO combines rapid growth with strong profitability
London IPOs are a rare beast, but this Wednesday cyber security business Chaleit Holdings (AIM: CHA) was admitted to trading on AIM. Along with the listing, the company raised gross proceeds for itself of c.£1.1 million at 50p per share to give it an initial market cap of c.£11.2 million. The net proceeds will mainly be used for expansion of the sales team and other key staff, along with working capital. The markets have responded well to the issue, with Chaleit shares currently trading at 69p, giving a market cap of c.£15.5 million.
The business
Founded in 2021 by CEO Prof. Dan Haagman, Chaleit Holdings is a Cambridge-based specialist cyber security advisory firm focussed on penetration testing and offensive security consultancy. Funnily enough, the listing came a day after online retailer ASOS made the headlines after being hit by its own cyber-attack. The incident demonstrated that cyber security is now an enduring enterprise requirement as businesses are increasingly dependent on technology and data, with ever-evolving threats, regulation and the adoption of artificial intelligence.
Chaleit describes its approach as “examining technology from the perspective of a malicious attacker to reveal how vulnerabilities arise, how systems can be compromised, and how organisations can respond before those vulnerabilities are exploited.” This is a sound approach, with a material cyber incident not only having financial consequences but also operational, regulatory and reputational consequences, supporting continuing demand for specialist cyber security capability across sectors and geographies.
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In terms of services, Chaleit has built a broader consultancy encompassing AI and language model security, cloud security and development security operations engineering, and cyber advisory, governance and compliance work. Established routes to market include direct enterprise sales, executive and Chief Information Security Officer relationships, referrals, industry participation, research and informed opinion.
Chaleit is CREST-accredited (an internationally recognised quality assurance standard for the technical cyber security industry) for penetration testing. It is also Financial Services Qualification System (FSQS) registered – this is a qualification and compliance standard widely used by financial institutions in the UK and Europe to assess the risk, performance, and compliance of suppliers and service providers.
The company serves clients across financial services, technology, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, legal services and critical infrastructure, with an international footprint including the UK, Australia and the United States and planned entry into Singapore in late 2026. The UK is its biggest market, delivering 63% of revenues in FY2026.
Market
Chaleit operates in a UK cyber security market which generated £13.6 billion of revenue in the twelve months to June 2026 and is forecast by IBISWorld to grow at a compound annual rate of 5.2% to 2031. The market is fragmented, with the four largest providers estimated to hold only a c.25% share between them.
Last year, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) released a report which found that the average cost of a significant cyber-attack (defined as a successful attack costing at least £500) for an individual UK business, across all firm sizes and sectors, was c.£195,000. The estimated annual UK cost of significant cyber-attacks is £14.7 billion, equivalent to around 0.5% of GDP.
Numbers
Since 2021, Chaleit has established international operations, developed its own client base and built a profitable and cash-generative business.
We think the numbers look good. Revenue increased from £1.74 million in FY2025 (to end March) to £2.11 million in FY2026. Chaleit served 47 clients in FY2026, up from 41 in FY2025 and 36 in FY2024, and no single client accounted for more than 10% of revenue last year. The ten largest clients represented 55% of FY2026 revenue, down from 63% two years earlier.
The revenue growth was complemented by margin improvement, with Chaleit’s gross profit margin increasing from 62.3% to 73.7% from FY2025 to FY2026 and the operating profit margin growing from 8.3% to 32.2%. Impressively, despite the revenue growth, admin expenses fell from £0.94 million to £0.87 million over the two years.
At the very bottom line, net profits increased from £116,334 in FY2025 to £510,180 in FY2026. That puts the shares on a multiple of around 30 times historic 2026 profits. With the growth rate for 2026 being 339%, the PEG ratio is just 0.09 times.
Net cash flow from operations was strong in FY2026, with a £665,817 inflow, up from £215,498 in FY2025. On the balance sheet, the firm had cash of £750,284 as at 31st March 2026 and no borrowings.
Impressive trading continues
Trading has continued to be strong since the last financial year end, and is said to be ahead of management expectations. Unaudited management accounts for the five months ended 31st August 2026 show revenue of c.£1.23 million, representing growth of c.49% over the equivalent period in FY2026. This has been attributed mainly to the progression of new client relationships secured during FY2026 into continuing engagements.
On the growth strategy, Chaleit intends to deepen its presence in selected international markets, and has continued to strengthen its senior team since the year end. A Chief Revenue Officer joined on a part-time basis in August 2026, to become full-time from January 2027, and two further senior technical leads were promoted to Vice President and Associate Vice President with effect from 1st October 2026.
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Disclosures
Chaleit Holdings is not a corporate client of Optimo Research Ltd.
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