Revenue increased by 16 per cent to £143m for the year ending 31 December 2019.
The figure comprised £135m from the core MAB business and £8m from First Mortgage Direct, which was acquired on 2 July 2019.
Revenue at the core MAB business grew by 10 per cent. This was driven by an increase in the average number of advisers during the year to 1,293, up 14 per cent.
The total number of advisers across the group had risen by 20 per cent to 1,457 as of 31 December. At the core MAB business, this was a rise of 13 per cent, or 162, to 1,375.
However, the average yearly revenue per adviser at the core business dropped by three per cent. MAB attributed the decline to impacts on the housing market of “continuing political and economic uncertainties associated with Brexit, particularly in the earlier part of 2019.”
The second half of the year saw “improved productivity” compared to H1. MAB added that it expected to generate growth in revenue per adviser during 2020, “irrespective of activity in the broader market.”
This would be driven by a combination of “the UK General Election result and many MAB initiatives including process efficiencies and lead generation supported by technology developments,” it added.
Technology rollout
Peter Brodnicki, chief executive at MAB (pictured), said: “We delivered a strong performance despite prolonged political and economic uncertainties throughout 2019. We continue to deliver on our strategy — to grow our market share in all conditions by investing in sustainable growth whilst maintaining a strong financial position.”
“We are capitalising on our protection and lead generation initiatives to further improve performance. And we continue to pilot our new technology platform, with roll-out to a number of appointed representatives (ARs) expected in the first half of 2020. These initiatives are important recruitment drivers for ARs, advisers and lead sources,” he added.
Pre-tax profit for the year was “in line with expectations”. The group reported a balance sheet cash position of £21m, including £7m of unrestricted cash balances.
At year-end, MAB had no drawdown on its revolving credit facility, which was put in place at the time of the First Mortgage Direct acquisition.
