Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. (BOW)

Price$33.65Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-06 00:01 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares sit below reported cash, but losses and lease obligations justify caution.

At the observed quote, 2.261 billion shares imply an £8.4 million market value, slightly below the £9.0 million cash reported on 13 April 2026. That looks cheap, but cash had fallen from £11.1 million at year-end while £27.0 million of property lease obligations remained. The continuing business also lost £1.4 million on management’s measure before lease-accounting effects. Because the cash is earmarked for refurbishments and acquisitions, the discount is not a clear bargain; fair-priced best fits the mixed evidence.

Big pictureShrinking sales and uneven profits show a business still emerging from restructuring.

Revenue fell 14.5% to £31.3 million in 2025 as the restaurant count shrank from 36 to 32, then to 29 after year-end. The £16.0 million 2024 profit was not durable: it largely reflected an £18.6 million accounting gain when closed-site leases were removed. Operating cash was £1.5 million. Free cash flow—cash left after running and investing—was about £1.2 million before £2.1 million of lease-principal payments, or roughly £0.9 million negative after them. Optional restaurant spending also makes results sensitive to consumer confidence.

Business strengthFresh cash bought time, but existing owners lost most of their percentage stake.

The 2025 share sale delivered £9.7 million net and left the group without bank borrowings. Year-end cash was £11.1 million, while current assets of £13.4 million exceeded current liabilities of £8.6 million. However, reported shareholder equity was only £0.6 million because lease obligations were substantial. Shares outstanding rose from 197.7 million to 2.261 billion, leaving pre-raise owners with only about 8.7% of the enlarged count unless they participated. A further 200.2 million employee options could eventually expand the share count by another 8.9%.

What could change the storyRefurbishment gains must spread before acquisitions drain the remaining cash cushion.

The bull case is concrete but early: four refurbished Wildwood sites grew like-for-like sales, meaning sales at comparable restaurants, by 18.3% in the five weeks to 29 March, and group growth remained positive through 17 May. The bear case is higher wages that management says cannot be fully absorbed, while cash had already fallen £2.1 million by 13 April and acquisitions could consume more before returns are proven. The valuation assumes neither collapse nor a successful buying spree; proof would be positive cash after lease payments and disciplined deal terms.

AI: News

Sales growth continuedSales kept growing as refurbishments and new menus began lifting the smaller restaurant estate.

On 20 May 2026, Bow Street said sales at comparable restaurants continued rising during the seven weeks to 17 May, broadly matching first-quarter growth. Four first-quarter Wildwood refurbishments were delivering significant growth, Salisbury had reopened after refurbishment, three more projects were due, and a new Wildwood menu launched across the chain on 13 May. This supports the turnaround case, but the company disclosed no profit or cash measure, so the improvement’s value remains unproven.

Results revealed weak economicsAnnual results showed improving sales momentum, but losses and lease payments kept cash quality weak.

Results released on 15 April 2026 showed 2025 revenue down 14.5% to £31.3 million and a £9.3 million net loss, including £7.3 million of asset write-downs. The underlying operating loss was £0.5 million, while cash after lease-principal payments and investment was negative. More positively, comparable sales grew over 5% in the first quarter of 2026 and 18.3% at four refurbished sites. The announcement therefore strengthened the turnaround evidence without establishing durable profitability.

Recapitalisation reset ownershipA large share sale rebuilt liquidity but sharply reduced existing owners’ percentage stakes.

Following shareholder approval announced on 3 September 2025, 2.064 billion new shares entered trading the next day, including 2.024 billion issued through the fundraising and 40 million used to acquire the cash-only Ventnor Bay company. The transaction raised £10.1 million before expenses, installed David Page as executive chairman and Nick Wong as finance chief, and supported the new acquisition strategy. It also increased the total share count more than elevenfold, fundamentally changing each legacy share’s claim on future value.

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Revenue

2022

2023

2024

2025

Net income

2022

2023

2024

2025

Free cash flow

2022

2023

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2025

Total cash / debt

CashTotal debt

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2024

2025

Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022
Revenue	$551.6M	$425.7M	$283.4M	$187.6M
Operating expenses	$102.3M	$89.1M	$63.5M	$46.0M
Net income	$53.8M	$38.2M	$25.0M	$11.3M
Net profit margin	9.75%	8.98%	8.84%	6.00%
Basic EPSper basic share	$1.64	$1.31	$1.04	$0.47
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$1.59	$1.29	$1.04	$0.47

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

≈27.22%of listed shares

Botein Matthew8.97M shares · Aug 8, 2025

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of BOW
Holder	% owned
Botein Matthew	≈27.22%8.97M shares
Gallatin Point Capital LLC	27.22%8.97M shares
AMERICAN FAMILY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, S.I.	≈14.27%4.7M shares
American Family Investments, Inc.	14.27%4.7M shares
AMERICAN CENTURY COMPANIES INC	6.32%2.08M shares
VICTORY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC	5.25%1.73M shares
BlackRock, Inc.	4.71%1.55M shares
Polar Capital Holdings Plc	4.55%1.5M shares
Sills Stephen Jay	≈4.51%1.48M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	2.53%834.3K shares
SILVERCREST ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP LLC	1.68%551.82K shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	1.38%455.14K shares
MORGAN STANLEY	1.32%436.21K shares
STATE STREET CORP	1.30%427.64K shares
SCHRODER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP	1.27%418.81K shares
TWO SIGMA INVESTMENTS, LP	1.26%415.15K shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	1.06%350.81K shares
WASATCH ADVISORS LP	1.06%348.44K shares
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP	0.92%304.32K shares
Newman David John	≈0.90%295.08K shares

Percentages use 32.94M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Reported positions exceed 100% in total, so the circle shows the selected holder only.

Source: SEC Form 4 ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys1$49.9K disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)5$336.47M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Aug 8, 2025Form 4	Botein MatthewDirector,TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	2.00M	$30.66	$61.32M	8.97M
Aug 8, 2025Form 4	Gallatin Point Capital LLC +3Director,TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	2.00M	$30.66	$61.32M	8.97M
Feb 28, 2025Form 4	Schnidman AvaDirector	BuyCommon Stock · indirect	1.5K	$33.41	$49.9K	1.9K
Oct 25, 2024Form 4	Botein MatthewDirector,TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	3.18M	$27.70	$88.05M	10.97M
Oct 25, 2024Form 4	Gallatin Point Capital LLC +3Director,TenPercentOwner	SellCommon Stock · indirect	3.18M	$27.70	$88.05M	10.97M

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. (BOW)

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