GTCO Plans Global Push After London Stock Exchange Listing

GTCO becomes the first West African bank to list on the London Stock Exchange, raising $105 million to fund an Africa and East Asia expansion as Nigeria's banking sector completes a sweeping recapitalization.

GTCO raised $105 million through a July 2025 LSE dual listing, the first direct ordinary-share listing by a Nigerian bank on the exchange's Main Market.
East Africa and East Asia are identified as the group's primary new frontiers; Nigeria currently generates 67% of total profit.
Full-year 2025 profit before tax reached ₦1.23 trillion, with total assets rising 20% year-on-year to ₦17.76 trillion.

What Happened

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (NGX: GTCO; LSE: GTCO) formally began trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market on July 9, 2025, completing a $105 million accelerated share offering and becoming the first West African financial institution to list its ordinary shares on the exchange. The event marked the opening move in an international GTCO expansion strategy that leadership has since detailed, targeting high-growth corridors across East Africa and East Asia.

Strategic Context

The capital raise was partially driven by a sweeping directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which in March 2024 raised the minimum paid-in capital for commercial banks holding international licences from ₦50 billion to ₦500 billion, with a compliance deadline of March 31, 2026. When combined with an earlier ₦209 billion ($136 million) domestic equity raise, GTCO's two tranches of fresh capital totalled approximately $236 million, funding ₦504 billion in new capital for its banking subsidiary.

The Nigeria banking sector completed that exercise at scale. The CBN confirmed in April 2026 that 33 Nigerian banks had satisfied the new requirements, with lenders collectively raising ₦4.65 trillion — 27.45% of which was sourced from international markets, underlining the sector-wide move to access global finance pools.

Expansion Plans

Group Chief Executive Officer Segun Agbaje has identified East Africa and East Asia as GTCO's primary underpenetrated growth targets. Nigeria currently accounts for 67% of the group's consolidated profit; West Africa contributes 27%, while East Africa and the United Kingdom contribute only 1.5% and 1.8% respectively. Leadership has confirmed plans to scale both geographies aggressively, with branch network expansion across existing international markets and selective entry into new jurisdictions on the agenda.

GTCO already operates across ten African countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania — alongside a United Kingdom presence. The group's non-banking financial services portfolio is also expanding: its digital payments arm, HabariPay, recorded profit of ₦9.7 billion in 2025, a 155% year-on-year increase, while pensions and asset management divisions contribute additional diversification. Management targets 25% loan growth and 40% deposit growth for 2026 as the enlarged balance sheet is deployed.

Financial Performance

Full-year 2025 results demonstrated GTCO's underlying earnings power. The group reported gross earnings of ₦2.15 trillion and profit before tax of ₦1.23 trillion. Total assets grew 20.04% to ₦17.76 trillion; total deposits rose 23.77% to ₦12.87 trillion. Earnings per share reached ₦25.43, with a declared dividend of ₦12.76 per share.

Interest income increased 23.2% to ₦1.65 trillion, driven by a 28.1% expansion in earning assets and a 290-basis-point improvement in portfolio yield. Fee and commission income climbed 25.9% to ₦278.6 billion. A ₦477.8 billion headwind on fair value and derivative gains — the product of a strengthening naira against the exceptional 2024 base — moderated reported profit growth despite strong core business performance.

Outlook

The GTCO London Stock Exchange listing places a leading institution from the Nigeria banking sector on a global capital footing for the first time, widening the investor base and lowering the structural cost of external funding. With the CBN recapitalization programme complete, the group shifts focus to deploying its enlarged balance sheet into East Africa and East Asia — markets that together account for less than 4% of current profit — while deepening the digital ecosystem anchored by HabariPay. The dual listing across the NGX and the LSE is positioned to sustain institutional demand from global finance centres, providing a durable funding advantage over regional peers that remained domestically listed.

Mentioned tickers: GTCO, GTCO.L

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Sources:

[GTCO Plans Fresh Expansion After London Stock Exchange Listing](https://punchng.com/gtco-plans-fresh-expansion-after-london-stock-exchange-listing/)
[Nigeria's GTCO to List on London SE from 9 July](https://africancapitalmarketsnews.com/nigerias-gtco-to-list-on-london-se-from-9-july/)
[GTCO Targets East Asia Expansion, No Plans for US](http://nairametrics.com/2025/07/10/gtco-targets-east-asia-expansion-no-plans-for-us/)
[GTBank Raises $105 Million in London Share Sale](https://www.thisdaylive.com/2025/07/05/gtbank-raises-105-million-in-london-share-sale/)
[GTCO Full Year 2025 Financial Highlights](https://nairametrics.com/2026/04/01/gtco-plcs-full-year-2025-financial-highlights/)
[GTCO Posts ₦865.75bn Profit in 2025](https://dailytimesng.com/gtco-posts-%E2%82%A6865-75bn-profit-in-2025-underpinned-by-robust-core-earnings/)
[GTCO's HabariPay Records N9.7bn Profit in 2025](https://nairametrics.com/2026/04/08/gtcos-habaripay-records-n9-7bn-profit-in-2025-jump-155/)
[GTCO Completes GDR Delisting, Reaffirms Dual Listing Strategy](http://nairametrics.com/2025/08/01/gtco-completes-gdr-delisting-from-london-stock-exchange-reaffirms-dual-listing-strategy/)
[CBN: 16 Banks Successfully Recapitalised Ahead of Deadline](https://dmarketforces.com/16-banks-successfully-recapitalised-ahead-of-deadline-cbn/)
[Under Nigerian Banker Segun Agbaje, GTCO Becomes First West African Lender to List in London](https://www.billionaires.africa/2025/07/11/gtco-london-listing-segun-agbaje/) }}