Digital mortgage broker Habito posted its first-ever monthly profit in September, as it controlled costs and boosted revenues.  

The business reported average monthly losses of £385,000 in the first five months of this year, while last year losses averaged £897,000 a month. Its profit last month was undisclosed.   

The move comes after former chief executive of mortgage broker Dynamo Ying Tan took a significant stake in Habito and became its chief executive in June, replacing Daniel Hegarty who had led the firm for seven years.  

The broker says it expects annualised losses to be around £2m this year, down from £10.7m in 2022.    

It adds it is on track to hit full-year profitability by the end of 2024.  

Tan says: “It is a long road ahead and the market conditions are challenging but we are very much on the right trajectory.”  

The broker closed a funding round in June, which apart from Tan, was supported by existing investors, Augmentum Fintech, SBI Investment, Volution and Bootstrap Europe.  

The broker has serviced 550,000 customers and has submitted more than £10bn worth of mortgages since it was launched in 2016.  

Tan founded Dynamo, formerly The Buy to Let Business, in 2006 and grew it to 200 staff before exiting to Connells in 2021. He has since invested in a number of fintech businesses including Propflo and Knowledge Bank, where he is currently non-executive chair.