Mortgage Advice Bureau revenue rises 8%, but margins feel the refinancing mix

Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) delivered higher mortgage completions and revenue during the first half of 2026, despite subdued consumer confidence and volatile mortgage pricing.

The less impressive part is profit conversion. Adjusted profit before tax is expected to be approximately £14.6 million, broadly unchanged from £14.5 million a year earlier, even though revenue increased by 8%.

That gap is the central feature of this update. Mortgage Advice Bureau, or MAB, is handling more business and gaining some market share, but the type of mortgage activity passing through the platform is generating pressure on margins.

Mortgage Advice Bureau's key H1 figures

Metric	H1 2026	Comparison
Total mortgage completions	Approximately £16.5 billion	Up 16% from £14.2 billion
Group revenue	Approximately £160 million	Up 8% from £148.2 million
Adjusted profit before tax	Approximately £14.6 million	£14.5 million in H1 2025
Mainstream advisers	2,194	Up 3% from 2,135 at 31 December 2025
Average revenue per mainstream adviser	£74,000	Unchanged from H1 2025
Share of new mortgage lending	8.3%	8.2% in 2025
Share of Product Transfers	3.2%	2.9% in 2025

The 16% increase in total mortgage completions is a solid operational result in a difficult market. MAB's share of new mortgage lending also edged higher to 8.3% for the five months ended 31 May 2026, while its share of Product Transfers rose more clearly to 3.2%.

A Product Transfer is when an existing borrower moves to another mortgage deal with the same lender. These transactions can provide useful activity for advisers, particularly when housing purchases are weak, but they do not necessarily generate the same revenue mix as new property purchases.

Why revenue growth did not produce much more profit

MAB said the first half was supported by strong refinancing activity. This was a sharp contrast with H1 2025, when refinancing was comparatively subdued and market growth was driven primarily by a 35% increase in purchase lending ahead of changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax relief.

That change in mortgage mix matters.

Remortgages and Product Transfers typically generate lower protection policy volumes than purchase business. Protection products include insurance designed to help customers meet financial commitments if certain adverse events occur.

Protection volumes grew more slowly than mortgage completions during the period. Mortgage pricing volatility also meant advisers had to spend additional time securing outcomes for customers, which reduced productivity.

As a result, the 8% increase in revenue translated into only a small increase in adjusted profit before tax. Management attributed the lower margin principally to three factors:

• A significant shift in the mortgage product mix.
• Slower growth in protection policy volumes.
• The timing of benefits from integrating subsidiaries acquired in late 2025.

This does not mean growth disappeared. It means the quality and profitability of that growth were less favourable than the headline completion figure might initially suggest.

Mortgage applications slowed after an early refinancing rush

The application trend weakened as the half progressed.

Mortgage applications were 15% higher year-on-year during the first 19 weeks of 2026. This included accelerated refinancing in March and April, when some customers fixed rates ahead of their mortgage expiry dates because of heightened macroeconomic and interest-rate uncertainty.

During the following seven weeks to the end of June, applications fell 13% year-on-year. That brought growth for the year to date down to 7% at the end of the first half.

MAB said this partly reflected the earlier timing of refinancing activity, rather than simply a disappearance of demand. However, it also pointed to a broader slowdown in applications amid continued housing market uncertainty.

The Board is not assuming an improvement in housing transactions while geopolitical and domestic policy uncertainty remains heightened. That is a suitably cautious planning assumption, but it confirms that management does not expect a purchase-led recovery to solve the current product-mix challenge in the near term.

Why the second half carries more weight

MAB expects full-year results to be in line with expectations, although the financial level of those expectations was not disclosed in the announcement.

Profitability is expected to be more heavily weighted towards H2 than in previous years. The company identified several potential supports:

• Visibility over approximately 70,000 fixed-rate mortgage maturity opportunities in H2.
• Further revenue growth.
• Progressive delivery of acquisition synergies.
• Higher customer retention.
• Increased protection contribution.
• Actions to improve adviser productivity.
• Continued cost discipline.

The 70,000 mortgage maturities represent a sizeable refinancing opportunity, but they should not be treated as guaranteed completed business. Customers may choose different advisers, remain with their existing lender through another route or delay making a decision.

There is also more operational gearing in the business following increased contributions from MAB's invested companies. Operating leverage means that changes in revenue can have a larger effect on profit because part of the cost base is relatively fixed.

That can help if revenue performs strongly. It can also magnify disappointment if second-half activity or profit conversion falls short.

Adviser numbers provide some capacity for growth

The number of mainstream advisers increased by 3% from the end of 2025 to 2,194 at 30 June 2026.

Average revenue per mainstream adviser remained stable at £74,000, despite the substantial change in product mix. Holding that figure steady under difficult market conditions is encouraging, although management is still taking action to improve productivity.

The integration of subsidiaries acquired in late 2025 is another important element. MAB reported further progress during H1, but the anticipated operational and commercial synergies are expected to build progressively during the second half and beyond.

In other words, the acquisitions have already influenced the cost base, while a fuller contribution from the expected benefits is still to come. Execution will therefore matter.

The positives and risks for investors

The positives are reasonably clear. Mortgage completions grew by 16%, revenue increased by 8%, adviser numbers expanded and market share improved across both new mortgage lending and Product Transfers. The Board also retained its full-year expectations.

The main concern is that adjusted profit before tax barely moved. The refinance-heavy market has produced lower protection volumes and placed extra demands on adviser time, while acquisition benefits have not yet fully offset those pressures.

Investors will also need to watch the recent slowdown in mortgage applications. Although some refinancing demand was brought forward into March and April, the 13% year-on-year decline during the subsequent seven weeks shows that momentum was not consistent throughout the half.

What to watch in the interim results

MAB is due to publish its interim results on 22 September 2026. The most useful indicators will be evidence that the H2 refinancing pipeline is converting into completions, protection performance is improving and acquisition synergies are beginning to support margins.

Progress on adviser productivity and customer retention will also be important. Revenue growth is valuable, but this update shows that the product mix and cost of delivering advice can make a substantial difference to the profit ultimately retained.

For now, MAB has produced resilient top-line growth and modest market-share gains in an unsettled mortgage market. The second half must provide the stronger profit contribution management expects if the company is to turn that operational progress into better full-year profit conversion.