Mortgage Advice Bureau improves guidance on record approvals

Like the broader housing industry, the mortgage brokerage has benefited from a sharp bounce back following the pause in activity in April and May when the market was effectively placed into lockdown. That meant that during the second quarter revenue declined by just over a fifth, excluding the contribution from last year’s acquisition of First Mortgages. However, that also meant that the group’s market share of new mortgage lending rose to 5.9 per cent, from 5 per cent the same time last year.

Yet despite management’s bullish outlook, it has eschewed recommending a half-year dividend and instead plans to pay only a final dividend of 6.2p a share in respect of the 2020 financial year. That caution could well be merited. There is a large question mark hanging over the extent to which demand will be sustained once the stamp duty holiday comes to an end on 31 March. "Inevitably it will come off a bit," said deputy chief executive Ben Thompson. However, there was already strong demand from those that had "sat on their hands" during the three years since the 2016 referendum, he said.

Numis upgraded its forecast adjusted pre-tax profits and EPS to £14.5m and 23.2p for 2020, rising to £25.4m and 39.9p the following year.