Manchester tops the nation's creatine search charts just as its most famous export, Myprotein owner THG (LSE: THG), posts a mixed set of half-year numbers that sent the stock down sharply.
THG plc (LSE: THG), the Manchester Airport-based owner of Myprotein, saw its shares drop 8.5% to 29.00p on the day it published half-year results showing group revenue up 5.8% to £828.7 million and adjusted EBITDA climbing 78% to £42.8 million, even as fresh search data crowned Manchester the UK's most creatine-obsessed city.
The share fall came despite Myprotein sales surging 57% to £58.5 million and the group's pretax loss narrowing sharply to £36.3 million from £66.7 million a year earlier, suggesting investors focused on the scale of the remaining loss rather than the pace of improvement.
Chief executive Matthew Moulding pointed to the completed Myprotein rebrand and a push into higher-margin categories such as licensing and activewear as drivers of the turnaround, with the brand also striking a licensing deal with Greencore Group to place Myprotein-branded protein food into Sainsbury's stores. For the full 2025 year, THG reported revenue up 2.3% to £1.72 billion and a return to operating profit of £8.1 million, with adjusted EBITDA of £76.6 million.
Frasers Group, run by Mike Ashley, has been building a position in the retailer, lifting its stake to 10.9% in March 2025 in a holding worth close to £50 million at the time. THG's market capitalisation has hovered a little above £500 million through 2026, with the stock mostly trading in the high 20s to low 30s pence, well within its 52-week range of roughly 23.82p to 52.55p.
Separately, new analysis from Kollo Health of Google search data across 50 UK cities found Manchester generating the highest per-capita creatine search interest nationally, at 343.51 searches per 100,000 residents, 2.8 times the 50-city average, while London drives the largest raw volume. The report's authors stress that search demand does not predict share performance, but analysts have flagged Myprotein's pricing on core protein products as a potential lever for further market share gains as THG works to convert improving fundamentals into a sustained share price recovery.
This report is based on THG plc’s announcement and coverage by UK Investor Magazine. Company announcements can be tracked via London Stock Exchange RNS and Investegate, and the full markets calendar is worth watching for the next update.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Photo: Alex Saks on Unsplash.
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