Revenue rises while profits slip at Mortgage Advice Bureau

Mortgage Advice Bureau has seen revenue rise and profits dip in its final results for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Revenue grew to £239.5m, up from £230.8m in 2022, while statutory profit-before tax slipped to £16.2m from £17.4m, and adjusted profit before tax decreased to £23.2m from £27.2m.

During the year, market share of new mortgage lending was up 11% to 8.3%, though gross mortgage completions were down 8% to £25.1bn and gross new mortgage completions were down 21% to £18.6bn.

Peter Brodnicki, Chief Executive, said: “Against a very challenging backdrop in 2023, MAB continued its exceptional track record of outperformance and market share growth in all market conditions.

“Despite the severe market downturn, we continued our investment across the entire business and remained resolutely focused on long-term growth. Our proposition for growth focused mortgage and protection firms is outstanding, underpinned by best-in-class technology, lead generation and infrastructure, and our aim is to continue to further increase MAB’s differentiation versus our competitors and grow market share and profitability.

“2024 has started well, with both purchase and re-financing activity having picked up significantly. We believe this signals the early stages of a market recovery that builds towards a catch-up year in 2025, with pent-up demand continuing to be released as consumer confidence and affordability increase.

“Although we expect organic adviser growth to start building some momentum again in H2 as our AR firms gain more confidence in the sustainability of the recovery, recruitment activity in terms of new AR firms is exceptionally strong, reflecting the significant strides we have made in terms of our technology and lead generation developments, as well as how we have engaged with and supported our partner firms with the introduction and integration of Consumer Duty.

“Following an exceptionally strong year for our most mature investment First Mortgage, strong progress has been made in terms of efficiencies and lead sources in all our other AR investments, with adviser productivity in these firms being significantly higher than our average across the Group. We expect a record performance from our investments this year and believe the portfolio will contribute to accelerated Group profit growth over the medium term.”