Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) (LSE:MAB1), the technology-driven UK property finance broker, reported total mortgage completions up 16% to approximately £16.5bn in the six months to 30 June, against £14.2bn a year earlier.
Group revenue rose 8% to approximately £160m, up from £148.2m in the first half of 2025, driven by strong refinancing activity that contrasted with last year's purchase-led growth ahead of Stamp Duty changes.
Adjusted profit before tax is expected to be approximately £14.6m, broadly flat on £14.5m a year earlier, as a shift toward remortgages and Product Transfers, slower protection policy growth, and the timing of synergies from subsidiaries acquired in late 2025 weighed on margin.
MAB's share of new mortgage lending rose to 8.3% for the five months to 31 May, from 8.2%, while its share of Product Transfers increased to 3.2% from 2.9%.
Mainstream adviser numbers grew 3% to 2,194 at the end of June, from 2,135 at the end of December, with average revenue per adviser stable at £74,000.
Mortgage applications ran 15% ahead year-on-year in the first 19 weeks of the year before falling 13% in the following seven weeks, leaving year-to-date applications up 7%.
The company said it has visibility over approximately 70,000 fixed-rate mortgage maturities in the second half, expected to support higher refinancing activity, and is not assuming any recovery in housing transactions.
"MAB has continued to demonstrate its strength and resilience," said founder and chief executive Peter Brodnicki, adding he remains "confident in the Group's outlook for the full year."
Interim results are due 22 September.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
MAB grew mortgage completions 16% to £16.5bn in H1 2026 and revenue 8% to £160m, but adjusted profit stayed flat at £14.6m as margin pressure from a shift toward lower-margin remortgages and product transfers offset volume gains. The company faces a structural headwind: refinancing activity—which drove H1 growth—is not a sustainable growth engine, and MAB explicitly states it is 'not assuming any recovery in housing transactions,' meaning purchase-led growth (the higher-margin business) remains depressed.
Revenue growth decoupled from profit growth signals that MAB is gaining volume in a lower-margin product mix. The 70,000 fixed-rate maturities visibility in H2 may support near-term refinancing, but without a housing market recovery, the company's ability to expand margins or grow profit materially is constrained. Adviser headcount growth of 3% and stable revenue per adviser suggest the network is not yet driving productivity gains.
Insights assembled by AI. Editor-reviewed and grounded in tickstock’s coverage and proprietary knowledge graph.
Content is for informational purposes only, not financial advice.
