Mortgage Advice Bureau (Hldgs) PLC
23 July 2026
23 July 2026
Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) plc
("MAB" or the "Group")
Trading Update
Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) plc (LSE: MAB1), a leading technology-driven UK property finance service, today issues a trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2026, ahead of publishing its interim results on 22 September 2026.
MAB delivered a resilient performance in H1 2026 against a challenging market backdrop, with subdued consumer confidence and continued volatility in mortgage pricing creating a more complex environment for both customers and advisers. Despite these conditions, total mortgage completions¹ increased by 16% to approximately £16.5bn (H1 2025: £14.2bn).
Group revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2026 increased by 8% to approximately £160m (H1 2025: £148.2m). The first half was supported by strong refinancing activity, in contrast to H1 2025, when refinancing was comparatively subdued and market growth was driven primarily by a 35% year-on-year increase in purchase lending ahead of changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax relief.
Against this demanding prior-year comparison, we are pleased that MAB's share of new mortgage lending¹ increased to 8.3% for the five months ended 31 May 2026 (2025: 8.2%), while its share of Product Transfers increased to 3.2% (2025: 2.9%).
Protection policy volumes grew more slowly than mortgage completions. This reflected the greater weighting towards remortgages and Product Transfers, which typically generate lower protection volumes than purchase business. Volatility in mortgage pricing also required advisers to devote additional time to secure the best outcome for customers, impacting productivity.
During the period, the Group made further progress in integrating the subsidiaries acquired in late 2025. The anticipated operational and commercial synergies are expected to build progressively during the second half and beyond.
Adjusted profit before tax is expected to be approximately £14.6m, in line with the equivalent period last year (H1 2025: £14.5m). The reduction in margin was principally driven by a significant shift in mortgage mix, slower growth in protection policy volumes and the timing of benefits from integrating subsidiaries acquired in late 2025.
The number of mainstream advisers² at 30 June 2026 was up 3% on the prior year end to 2,194 (31 December 2025: 2,135). Average revenue per mainstream adviser remained stable at £74k in the first half, despite the significant shift in product mix (H1 2025: £74k).
Current trading and outlook
The Board expects full-year results to be in line with expectations.
In the AGM Trading Statement issued on 20 May 2026, the Group reported that mortgage applications in the first 19 weeks of the year were 15% higher than in the corresponding period of 2025. This included a period of accelerated refinancing activity in March and April, as some customers fixed rates ahead of their product expiry dates amid heightened macroeconomic and interest-rate uncertainty.
In the subsequent seven weeks to the end of June, mortgage applications were down 13% year-on-year, bringing the YTD to the end of June up 7% YoY. This reflected, in part, the earlier phasing of some refinancing activity, together with a broader slowdown in applications amid continued uncertainty in the housing market.
The Group has strong visibility over approximately 70k fixed-rate mortgage maturity opportunities in H2, which are expected to support higher levels of refinancing activity. The Group is not assuming an improvement in housing transactions while heightened geopolitical and domestic policy uncertainty persists.
The increased contribution from the Group's invested businesses has changed the shape of its cost base, creating greater operating leverage to revenue performance. While the seasonal weighting of revenue between H1 and H2 is broadly unchanged, profitability in 2026 is expected to be more heavily weighted towards H2 than in prior years, supported by revenue growth, the progressive delivery of acquisition synergies and management actions to improve adviser productivity, including higher customer retention, increased protection contribution and continued cost discipline.
Peter Brodnicki, Founder and CEO of MAB, commented:
"MAB delivered a resilient performance in the first half, with mortgage completions increasing by 16% and further growth in our market share across both new mortgage lending and Product Transfers.
The mortgage market remains predominantly refinance-led, with growth concentrated in remortgages and Product Transfers, while a sustained recovery in purchase activity has yet to emerge. This represents a significant change in business mix compared with the first half of 2025.
Against this backdrop, MAB has continued to demonstrate its strength and resilience and we have strong visibility over the significant fixed-rate mortgage maturity opportunity in the second half.
Management is taking targeted action to improve adviser productivity and profit conversion, with a particular focus on customer retention, protection performance, the delivery of acquisition synergies and continued cost discipline. These actions, together with the opportunities ahead, mean that I remain confident in the Group's outlook for the full year. Once again, we are demonstrating the strength of our business and financial model by pulling operational and commercial levers to respond to market conditions."
[1] Based on first charge mortgage completions, secured personal loans (second charge mortgages), later life lending mortgages and bridging finance. Total mortgage lending includes Product Transfers. New mortgage lending excludes Product Transfers. Prior-period market share figures have been updated to reflect the latest available industry data and may differ marginally from those previously reported.
2 Excludes directly authorised advisers, later life advisers without a mortgage and protection licence, and advisers in the process of being onboarded who are not yet able to trade.
Enquiries:
Investor Relations investor.relations@mab.org.uk
Camarco mab@camarco.co.uk
About MAB:
MAB is a leading UK property finance platform that connects customers, advisers, lenders, and insurers throughout the homeownership journey. Through its scalable, technology-driven intermediary model, MAB delivers personalised mortgage and protection advice via its proprietary platform, supported by deep customer insight and a data-rich, digitally enabled framework.
Through its partner firms, known as Appointed Representatives (ARs), MAB has over 2,100 advisers providing expert advice across mortgages, specialist lending, protection and general insurance products. MAB supports its AR firms with proprietary technology and services, including adviser recruitment and lead generation, learning and development, compliance auditing and supervision, and digital marketing and website solutions.
For more information, visit www.mortgageadvicebureau.com
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