Summary
Admirals serves EU clients through a CySEC-licensed Cyprus entity and also holds UK and Seychelles licences. Its Estonian licence was withdrawn at the company’s request in April 2026, but the group’s regulation page still presented it when we checked. The group publishes audited accounts, which show a €18.5 million net loss for 2025 after a pause in EU client onboarding that followed CySEC supervisory engagement.
- Grade
- AA
- Score
- 71/100
- Fieldwork
- 7 Oct 2026 to 8 Oct 2026
- Findings
- 5 medium1 low3 strength
Scorecard
| Pillar | Weight | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation & Licensing | 19% | A | |
| Corporate Structure & Ownership | 14% | AAA | |
| Client Money & Payouts | 19% | AA | |
| Execution & Pricing | n/a | ||
| Conduct & Disclosure | 14% | AA | |
| Operational Resilience | n/a | ||
| People & Community | 5% | B | |
| Overall | 71% | 71 | AA |
The overall score is the weighted average of the assessed pillars, with their weights scaled back up to 100.
This grade summarises the evidence we reviewed up to 9 October 2026. It is not a guarantee of the firm's safety or future conduct, and changes after that date are not reflected. Nothing here is financial or legal advice.
Findings
Regulation & Licensing
68/100The CySEC licence of Admirals Europe Ltd was confirmed on the register. Estonia’s regulator withdrew Admiral Markets AS’s investment firm licence in April 2026, yet the group’s regulation page still describes that licence as current.
- StrengthAdmirals Europe Ltd holds CySEC licence 201/13, issued 14 June 2013; the register lists www.admirals.com among its approved domains and Admirals as an approved trade name.
- StrengthAdmiral Markets UK Ltd is authorised by the FCA (FRN 595450), as disclosed by the group.
- MediumOn 27 April 2026 Finantsinspektsioon, Estonia’s financial regulator, withdrew the investment firm licence it issued to Admiral Markets AS in 2009, at the company’s own request (announced 6 May 2026). On 8 October 2026 the group’s regulation page still described Admiral Markets AS as licensed by Finantsinspektsioon.
- MediumThe group also operates Admirals SC Ltd, licensed by the FSA Seychelles (SD073), outside the main retail protection regimes.
Corporate Structure & Ownership
80/100Admirals Group AS is privately held but publishes audited annual reports. Its 2025 report shows a net loss of €18.5 million (2024: €1.6 million), as net trading income fell to €17.4 million from €38.4 million.
- StrengthAudited annual report for 2025 published on 30 April 2026.
- MediumNet loss of €18.5 million in 2025; equity attributable to owners of the parent fell to €49.7 million from €69.3 million a year earlier.
Client Money & Payouts
77/100UK clients are covered by the FSCS and EU clients by CySEC’s Investor Compensation Fund. Clients of the Seychelles entity have no equivalent scheme.
- MediumClients of Admirals SC Ltd (Seychelles) fall outside any investor compensation scheme.
Execution & Pricing
Not assessed in a desk audit. Spreads, slippage and fill quality can only be measured with live accounts.
Conduct & Disclosure
72/100Estonia’s regulator fined Admiral Markets AS €20,000 in 2022 for a reporting failure. The group’s annual report discloses that its Cyprus entity paused EU client onboarding in 2024 following CySEC supervisory engagement.
- LowOn 7 March 2022 Finantsinspektsioon announced that it had fined Admiral Markets AS €20,000 for a misdemeanour: breaching its obligation to report to a trade repository.
- MediumAdmirals Group’s 2025 annual report states that in 2024 Admirals Europe Ltd voluntarily paused onboarding of new EU clients while implementing enhancements following CySEC supervisory engagement, and resumed in March 2025. No CySEC board decision against the entity was found.
- ObservationA €32,000 fine on Admiral Markets AS, announced by Finantsinspektsioon in February 2021 over unilateral changes to clients’ crude oil CFD terms, was cancelled by Harju County Court, and the Tallinn District Court dismissed the regulator’s appeal. As the fine was cancelled, it is recorded here but not scored.
Operational Resilience
Not assessed in a desk audit. Uptime, incident history and security controls require evidence from the firm or live monitoring.
People & Community
30/100No Great Place to Work certification was found. Admirals reports supporting the Duck Rally, a charity race run by the Estonian Association of Parents of Children with Cancer.
- ObservationNo Great Place to Work certification was found in Great Place to Work’s public listings.
- ObservationCommunity contribution is reported by Admirals itself, in an undated post; we found no independent reporting of amounts.
Licences verified
Each licence was checked directly against the regulator's public register on the date shown.
| Entity | Regulator | Licence | Checked | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admirals Europe Ltd | CySEC | 201/13 | 8 Oct 2026 | ConfirmedLicensed 14 June 2013; approved domains include www.admirals.com. |
| Admiral Markets AS | Finantsinspektsioon (Estonia) | 4.1-1/46 | 8 Oct 2026 | DiscrepancyLicence withdrawn on 27 April 2026 at the company’s request; the group’s regulation page still presented it as current. |
Notes and sources
Sources
- CySEC register: Admirals Europe Ltd
- Finantsinspektsioon: licence withdrawn from Admiral Markets AS
- Finantsinspektsioon has fined Admiral Markets AS (7 March 2022)
- Finantsinspektsioon: Admiral Markets AS has been fined 32,000 euros
- Admirals Group AS: audited annual report 2025
- Admirals Group: Regulation
- Admiral Markets supporting the Duck Rally
Evidence and scope
Scope
Desk audit of the group’s client-facing entities, using public sources only: regulator registers and announcements, court and stock-exchange filings, and the firm’s own published documents, as available on 8 October 2026. No accounts were opened, nothing was tested live, and the firm was not asked for evidence.
Limitations
Absence of a public enforcement record is not evidence of good conduct. FCA and FSA Seychelles licence details are taken from the firm’s disclosures; those registers could not be queried directly for this audit. The nature of CySEC’s supervisory engagement is described only in the group’s own report. The share of clients served through the Seychelles entity could not be measured from public sources.
Evidence reviewed
- CySEC register entry, Admirals Europe Ltd
- CySEC board decisions, 2018 to October 2026
- Finantsinspektsioon announcements of 10 February 2021, 7 March 2022 and 6 May 2026
- Admirals Group AS audited annual report 2025
- Admirals Group regulation disclosures
Version history
- Report published.
- Methodology update, applied to all desk audits: the lowest scoring bands for Regulation, Structure, Client Money and Conduct are now set out in more detail. No change to this audit’s score or grade.
Request a re-audit
Staff of Admirals can ask us to reopen this audit, for example after correcting a finding or completing remediation. Requests must come from a company email address, and you can attach evidence.
Request a re-audit