Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) plc (LON: MAB1), the AIM-listed mortgage broker, cut its full-year profit guidance in a trading update issued before the market opened today, sending shares down almost a fifth.
The stock fell to around 396p in early trade, from a previous close of 490.5p, a drop of roughly 19%, having opened at 424p and touched a low of 379p.
MAB now expects adjusted pre-tax profit of about £38.0m for 2026, versus company-compiled consensus of £43.4m, a cut of roughly 12%. The company blamed two factors: an anticipated recovery in mortgage rates and purchase activity that has not materialised, and delays to new lead-flow arrangements at Fluent, its subsidiary, which are expected to cut Fluent’s 2026 profit contribution by about £5m.
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The first-half performance suggests the shortfall is concentrated in second-half expectations and the Fluent delay, rather than a broader deterioration across the core network, with first-half adjusted pre-tax profit coming in at £14.8m, slightly ahead of the £14.6m flagged in its July trading update and broadly in line with £14.5m a year earlier.
Founder and chief executive Peter Brodnicki said: “While it is disappointing to revise our expectations for 2026, market conditions have softened since our July trading update, reducing our ability to offset the impact of delays to new lead flows into Fluent. While these delays have pushed the anticipated profit growth from Fluent into 2027, the updated guidance nevertheless represents Adjusted profit before tax growth of approximately 5% compared with 2025, demonstrating the resilience of our business model against a more challenging market backdrop.”
MAB’s interim results for the six months to 30 June are due on 22 September, which should give the market its next read on whether the Fluent lead-flow delay is resolving.
