With 48% ownership in B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC (LON:BPM), insiders continue to have the largest holding even though they have sold shares recently

editorial-team@simplywallst.com (Simply Wall St)

Tue, Mar 18, 2025, 5:31 AM 4 min read

To get a sense of who is truly in control of B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC (LON:BPM), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is individual insiders. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And insiders own the top position in the company’s share registry despite recent sales.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about B.P. Marsh & Partners.

See our latest analysis for B.P. Marsh & Partners

ownership-breakdown — AIM:BPM Ownership Breakdown March 18th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About B.P. Marsh & Partners?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

B.P. Marsh & Partners already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of B.P. Marsh & Partners, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — AIM:BPM Earnings and Revenue Growth March 18th 2025

B.P. Marsh & Partners is not owned by hedge funds. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Brian Marsh (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 38% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. With 20% and 5.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, PSC Insurance Group Limited, Asset Management Arm and Martin Macleish are the second and third largest shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of B.P. Marsh & Partners

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC. Insiders own UK£127m worth of shares in the UK£261m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 12% stake in B.P. Marsh & Partners. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for B.P. Marsh & Partners that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.