Mortgage Advice Bureau’s (MAB) interim results for the six months to end of June show pre-tax profits up 39.9% to £12.3m (1H 2023: £8.8m) and market share of new mortgage lending up to 8.2% (H1 2023: 8.1%).

Mainstream adviser numbers were down 0.7% to 1,908 (H1 2023: 1,921), however the number of mainstream advisers post-period end had grown to 1,945 (as at 20 September 2024).

In its end of year trading statement in January 2024, AIM-listed MAB revealed the total number of its advisers had fallen by 4% in what it referred to as a “difficult market”.

In its latest figures, MAB shows revenue per mainstream adviser was up 9.2% to £65.3k on first half of 2023.

Commenting on the half-year performance MAB chief executive Peter Brodnicki said: “The first few months of 2024 started well as mortgage rates edged down ahead of expected base rate cuts and a more stable political outlook.

When it became clear those cuts were not imminent, lenders adjusted their mortgage rates back up and the increased activity we saw  started to tail off towards the end of Q1.”

He added that re-financing and purchase activity remained subdued for the rest of H1 ahead of the general election. Having now seen the first of a number of expected base rate cuts, activity levels were starting to gradually build again and he expects momentum to continue.

“Against this backdrop I am very pleased with the progress MAB continues to make in a year that mortgage volumes are likely to be at very similar levels to 2023. MAB’s investment in technology and AI remains a strategic priority as we shape the business  for strong and sustainable growth, while further increasing our operational resilience.

“Significant progress continues to be made in terms of lead generation, which is becoming an increasingly major differentiator, and will support our strategy to help scale firms and increase  adviser productivity.”

Brodnicki was  keen to point out that adviser numbers had started to pick up since the period end and he expects to deliver further growth this year as new ARs are recruited into MAB and  existing ARs start growing  adviser numbers again after a sustained period of market-induced consolidation.

“We expect to see record years in terms of re-financing activity in 2025/2026 and it is very encouraging to have a new government that is so focused on housebuilding and other  initiatives that will bring a tail wind to MAB and our market,” he concluded.