Brodnicki said: “Despite the Government-imposed restrictions and national lockdown that lasted for much of the first half, housing market activity was fueled by strong consumer demand following the re-opening of the housing market last year as well as the stamp duty holiday.”
He added that the group achieved record levels of mortgage applications and completions per adviser during the period to June.
MAB advisers achieved gross mortgage completions of £11bn in H1 2021 against £7.5bn in 2020 and £9.6bn in new mortgage lending against £6.4bn the previous year. Product transfers also rose from £1.1bn to £1.4bn.
Across the market, UK gross new mortgage lending activity (excluding product transfers) in H1 2021 rose by 58 per cent to £169.9bn compared to H1 2020, which was heavily affected by the closure of the housing market in Q2 2020, and by 34 per cent compared to H1 2019.
The only mortgage advice company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) said its market share of new mortgage lending represented six per cent of the UK market in H1.
Brodnicki said: “The increase in home-mover activity was particularly pronounced, largely driven by changing working and living patterns. The 30 June 2021 stamp duty holiday deadline in England, Wales and Northern Ireland generated record completion activity levels in June 2021.”
Adviser recruitment
Mortgage adviser numbers rose seven per cent to 1,694 to the 30 June 2021, but reached 1,800 after the first half period on 24 September.
The average number of mainstream advisers rose 13 per cent to 1,584 with revenue earned by each adviser up 28 per cent.
Brodnicki added: “We achieved seven per cent growth in adviser numbers despite the delay in recruitment pipeline conversion due to the UK lockdown and restrictions for much of H1. We expect to see a significant increase in adviser numbers in H2 and moving into 2022.”
The firm also reported acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in specialist new build broker Evolve FS.
Lead generation
MAB signed a raft of lead generation deals in H1 targeting technology helping first-time buyers acquire new homes. The firm invested in and signed a strategic lead generation deal with Boomin, a ‘next generation property portal’, which matches property buyers with targeted streets and promises the most ‘accurate online valuation’ ever
MAB is planning to provide mortgage services across various parts of the Boomin portal, with the opportunity to engage and nurture passive consumers in a meaningful way as they move to becoming active buyers.
It also reported ‘significant progress’ with its commercial deals securing early customer capture with The Nottingham Building Society’s Beehive Money app, an online saving portal and Moneybox, a consumer-facing personal finance management website and signed a long-term agreement with Moneysupermarket this week.
Brodnicki said: “I am confident the recent developments in lead generation and continued enhancements to our technology platform put MAB in an ever-stronger position to accelerate the pace of its growth.”
He added: “As customers adapt their ways of researching and buying mortgage products and services, MAB intends to be at the forefront of this change and increasingly drive a meaningful flow of quality leads through AR firms, thereby ensuring both their and the group’s future growth and success.”
