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MAB primes for cooled but healthy mortgage market as revenue rises to £95m

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  • 28/07/2022
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Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) has seen its revenues rise three per cent to £95m for the first half of the year.

In its trading update, the group said it started the second half of the year with a “larger than usual pipeline of written business” which it said was down to the extended completion timeframe for house purchase transactions.  

It said the time to complete a purchase had extended by around a month when compared to the same period last year.

MAB attributed this to several factors, including conveyancing and local authority capacity constraints, down valuations and “expiring mortgage offers that need to be reconsidered and reissued by lenders due to the frequency of UK base rate increases in the period”. 

It said refinancing activity remained strong. 

MAB added: “Whilst we expect consumer demand to cool a little over the coming months, transaction levels are expected to remain healthy.” 

The group said there was still demand for housing despite rises in the cost of living amid national and geopolitical uncertainties. 

It said this was supported by increased household savings, healthy employment levels and rising equity for movers. MAB also noted that lenders had strong liquidity “meaning mortgage availability is now close to pre-pandemic highs, thereby helping market activity to remain healthy”. 

While it expects rates to continue rising, it said they were still near record lows and said increases in rates stimulated activity as mortgage borrowers moved to secure favourable rates. 

 

Future outlook and wider business 

During the period, MAB saw a 19 per cent increase in its number of mainstream advisers which now amounts to 1,890, up from 1,584. This excludes directly authorised advisers, later life advisers, and advisers from associates in the process of being onboarded under MAB’s appointed representative arrangements.  

Its total adviser numbers have risen by eight per cent to 2,034, compared to 1,885 at the end of December. 

MAB said the completion of its acquisition of The Fluent Money Group in July allowed it to benefit from national lead generation sooner than expected, which reinforced its confidence for the year ahead. 

In the first half of the year, MAB increased its stake protection and general insurance advice firm Vita Financial Limited from 48 per cent to 75 per cent.

It said: “This is a strategically important step for the group as we look to achieve an even stronger market presence in this area.” 

Its adjusted profit before tax for the full year is expected to be in line with expectations. 

Peter Brodnicki (pictured), CEO of MAB, added: “Despite the obvious frustrations with the pace of completion of housing purchase transactions, our growth plans have been further boosted this year by the acquisition of Fluent Money. 

“The expected performance of this strong business, and the leverage it will provide to drive new and significant lead flow into MAB, added to continued strong adviser growth and ongoing enhancements in our technology platform, further supports our plan for accelerated growth into 2023 and beyond regardless of market conditions.” 

 

Yuno partnership 

MAB has also announced a partnership with proptech firm Yuno to provide buy-to-let advisers with legislative knowledge on the sector. 

Yuno launched its platform in 2020 which gives users access to information on the property market such as yield returns, legislation and regulatory changes. 

MAB advisers will make use of this data when advising buy-to-let clients to ensure they are up to date with any market changes and their legal obligations. 

Keith Burch-Lovell, head of partnerships at MAB, said: “We are delighted to partner with Yuno – a no-brainer considering the synergies between the two businesses.  

“Shining the spotlight on the wellbeing of our buy-to-let customers, we have already started working alongside landlords and letting agencies to upskill on key health and safety considerations in the sector.  

“And we’re proud to play a pivotal role in this educational journey.” 

Paul Conway, CEO, and founder at Yuno, said: “The partnership with marketing leading mortgage advisers, MAB, will arm our clients with the bespoke mortgage advice that goes hand in hand with the ever-changing regulatory landscape in the private rented sector. 

“Products are constantly changing and are becoming ever more specific to the way a property is being managed, so it’s great to have them side by side with our clients and users.” 

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