In a trading update ahead of the publication of its interim results in September, MAB said its revenue rose by 5% to £123.5m in H1. This was up on a group revenue of £117.5m during the same period last year. 

The group said this was achieved despite a “difficult market backdrop” and UK Finance forecasting that there would be a 5% reduction in gross lending this year. 

The value of MAB’s gross mortgage completions also increased by 5%. 

The group said its market share gains were “maintained” throughout the first five months of the year, increasing from 8% last year to 8.2% by 31 May – its most recent available data. 

 

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Adviser numbers set to rise 

The average number of mainstream advisers at MAB reduced by 3% to 1,898, while its overall adviser headcount increased from 1,918 at the end of last year to 1,944 in June. 

MAB said it saw a “slight dip” in the number of organic advisers in H1, as expected. 

Additionally, new advisers following recruitment drives across appointed representative (AR) firms “have started to come through in a more meaningful way”, MAB said. 

The group said it expected more growth for the rest of the year as new ARs were recruited into MAB, which would see adviser numbers start to increase after more than 20 months of consolidation. 

 

MAB looking forward to growth

Looking ahead, MAB said the group was “trading in line with expectations, with a modest pick-up in activity expected in the second half”. 

MAB said there was a “significant amount” of refinancing that has been delayed for months, with the expectation that rates would fall in the summer. 

The update added: “Whilst the market may no longer expect a rate cut in August, at some stage we expect these borrowers will want to switch to a better mortgage rate, rather than sitting on expensive floating rates. The current market expectation is that the Bank of England will cut rates by c. 0.5% by the end of the year.” 

The group said 2024 would be about stability, following an “extremely challenging” 2023 and base rate reductions would lead to a recovery in housing transactions and release of pent-up demand. 

Peter Brodnicki (pictured), CEO of MAB, said: “2024 started well, following a difficult 2023. However, most experts have been proved wrong in terms of the pace and scale of any rate reductions this year, and that has consequently delayed many refinance transactions in H1 and any sustainable pick-up in purchase activity. 

“Against this challenging backdrop, I am very pleased with how MAB continues to grow its market share. As we did last year, to ensure we are in the best possible shape when market conditions improve, we have continued to invest in technology to drive lead flow and adviser productivity across the group. The progress we are making will further increase our resilience in more challenging market conditions, whilst supporting accelerated growth when market conditions normalise.” 

He added: “We look forward to a downward trend in the base rate, which will lead to a more active refinancing market and a build-up to more normal levels of housing transactions. It is very encouraging to now have a new government so focused on housebuilding and other initiatives that will give our market and MAB a tailwind, added to which we expect to see record years in terms of refinancing in 2025/26. 

“We therefore expect to see activity pick up in the second half of the year and into 2025, when we anticipate our investment in lead generation and retention will contribute more significantly to our ambitious growth plans.”