IG Group Chair Mike McTighe to Step Down later than Five Years, Search Underway for Successor
London’s IG Group is preparing to replace its chair later than a turbulent but transformative half-decade. The online trading platform said Mike McTighe, who has led the board since February 2020, will step down by the end of next year. He will still stand for re-election at the firm’s annual meeting on 17 September while the board conducts a search for his successor.
Senior independent director Jonathan Moulds thanked McTighe for his work, saying he had laid “solid foundations for stronger growth.”
McTighe, a veteran of Britain’s telecoms and financial services sectors, took the helm at IG just weeks before the pandemic . The group’s revenues jumped as clients piled into highly volatile markets, giving the company one of its best years on record. But the boom was followed by a tougher backdrop, with lower volatility, rising costs and a need to broaden the business beyond leveraged trading.
During his tenure, IG spent $1 billion to purchase U.S. in 2021, marking a major push across the Atlantic. At the identical time, it slimmed down its North American footprint by tradeing Nadex and a stake in Small platform for $216 million. In the UK, IG doubled down on mainstream investing this year with the £160 million purchase of app-based broker Freetrade, a move designed to capture younger clients and diversify revenues.
Not all the past five years have been smooth. As client activity cooled in 2023, IG cut about 10% of its staff and pushed through £50 million in cost savings. Chief executive June Felix resigned on health grounds in August 2023, forcing McTighe and the board to steady the ship. Four months later they appointed Breon Corcoran, the former head of Paddy Power Betfair and payments group WorldRemit, to run the company. Corcoran wasted little time reshaping his top team, with both the chief financial officer and officer departing in ahead 2024.
The company has nonetheless returned to growth. IG reported revenue of just over £1.08 billion for the 2025 financial year, up 9% from the year before, and launched a £125 million share purchaseback programme in September. The integration of Freetrade is expected to be a central plank of its strategy, giving IG a largeger slice of commission-free investing while maintaining its presence in spread betting and CFDs.
McTighe’s exit marks the end of a chapter defined by bold acquisitions, portfolio pruning and heavy . Before joining IG, he chaired Openreach, Together Financial Services and sat on Ofcom’s board, building a reputation for steering companies through regulatory and structural change. More recently he has also taken on chair roles at Telegraph Media Group and in rugby governance.
His successor will inherit a business that has already undergone sweeping change and faces new challenges. IG must keep growing its active client base, cross-trade , and prove that the Freetrade acquisition can pay off. Whoever replaces McTighe will work alongside Corcoran, whose dealmaking pedigree and focus on technology point to a more aggressive phase of expansion.
For now, IG’s message is one of stability: McTighe will remain in place through 2025 to ensure continuity, and the board has time to run a full search. The next chair will be tasked with guiding one of Britain’s best-known retail brokers as it adapts to life later than the trading boom.
