Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) has reported a strong trading performance for 2025, underpinned by a rebound in adviser numbers, rising productivity and a strengthening refinancing market.

MAB said group revenue for the year ended 31 December 2025 rose by 19% to around £318m, compared with £266.5m a year earlier. Adjusted profit before tax is expected to come in at approximately £35.8m, up 12% on 2024, with the business trading in line with board expectations.

The number of mainstream advisers in the network increased by 10% over the year to 2,135. The group said this marked the first year of material growth since 2022, with around 65% of the increase driven organically by existing firms and the remainder coming from new appointed representative firms joining the network.

Adviser productivity also continued to improve. Average revenue per mainstream adviser rose to £157,000, a 13% increase on the previous year. The group noted that many advisers who joined during 2025 are not expected to reach full productivity until 2026.

Refinancing activity strengthened through the second half of the year as a higher volume of fixed-rate mortgages reached maturity. The number of remortgages and product transfers completed by appointed representatives was up 12% compared with 2024.

In contrast, the purchase market proved more uneven. Activity was strong at the start of the year as buyers brought transactions forward ahead of changes to Stamp Duty relief, but an anticipated autumn uplift failed to materialise. The group said buyer caution in the run-up to the Budget in November weighed on demand, although underlying conditions remained supportive, with around 33,000 mortgage products available across the market.

M&A ACTIVITY AND INVESTMENT

The group stepped up merger and acquisition activity during the year, taking majority ownership stakes in several businesses, including Heron, Evolve and Meridian, and expanding its presence in the south of England through further acquisitions. It also strengthened its later-life lending proposition with a majority stake in UK MoneyMan.

In addition, the group acquired full ownership of its technology and data business Dashly for £2.8m. The combined cash consideration across all transactions during the year totalled £12.4m.

The business welcomed ongoing work by the Financial Conduct Authority to review and modernise mortgage regulation, saying a more proportionate and growth-focused framework should support borrowers’ access to credit and borrowing capacity.

OUTLOOK AND CAPITAL MARKETS UPDATE

Looking ahead, the group said it had entered 2026 with good momentum. Fixed-rate maturities within its own book are expected to be 19% higher this year, well ahead of the wider market, supporting a particularly strong outlook for refinancing. The business is also seeing a gradual shift back towards two-year fixed-rate products, which it said should bolster its pipeline into 2027 and 2028.

After a slowdown in purchase activity towards the end of last year, the group expects a modest release of pent-up demand in early 2026 as affordability improves and lending criteria ease in some areas.

The board has also confirmed its intention to move from AIM to the ESCC listing category of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, subject to regulatory approval, with completion targeted for the second quarter of 2026.

Founder and chief executive Peter Brodnicki (pictured) said: “MAB delivered a strong financial performance in 2025, and I am pleased that our ARs are capitalising on a buoyant refinancing market which gathered momentum in the second half of the year and offers significant opportunities in 2026 and beyond.

“Optimism is returning among many of our ARs. It is particularly encouraging to see organic adviser numbers returning to meaningful growth, alongside improving adviser productivity and we see that trend continuing.

“2025 was an active year for M&A, as we consolidated our holdings in a number of existing businesses and added some high-quality strategic investments to strengthen our proposition.

“We remain focused on delivering our strategic priorities and medium-term growth targets, and my team and I look forward to updating investors on these topics at our Capital Markets update on 28 January.”