A clear and deliberate strategy defines MAB. Our customer-first model embraces evolving consumer preferences, and our investment in technology and partnerships ensure that the business is future-proofed and primed for growth.
Lead generation and lifetime customer value
MAB’s success has been built on being the leader in providing an exceptional service to introducer lead sources and their customers. Further investment in early customer capture and nurture, data analytics and customer profiling are helping us build a better understanding of our existing and future customers and how to best service their requirements to generate a greater lifetime value.
This learning is driving the development of our customer and broker platform and our apps and tools, whilst shaping our entire customer engagement strategy. These optimisations are already showing early signs of the size of the opportunity we have, including an increasing number of customer referrals from our existing lead channels, supporting the conversion of all leads, and identifying a demand for additional products and services.
MAB’s client bank and related retention opportunities grow year after year, as MAB and its ARs continue to generate new lead flows. Although we are in the early stages of implementation, we are entering an exciting period as we layer additional opportunities to attract potential customers to MAB.
Our acquisition of Fluent has added PCWs and other major national lead sources to MAB’s market leading position in the estate agency and new build sectors. Although MAB is the market leader in customer acquisition and fulfilment from local and national leads sources, we also support our ARs in optimising direct customer engagement and acquisition through organic website traffic and social media.
Lead generation - whether that be new customers, retaining customers, or increasing the lifetime value of a customer - is the major and increasing differentiator for MAB that drives adviser and AR growth, performance, and retention. Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are likely to have an increasing impact on how we acquire, retain, and build extended value for our customers and for MAB, its ARs and their advisers. Accordingly, continued investment in these areas remains a priority, regardless of market conditions, and will continue to underpin our strategy for strong market share and profit growth.
Adviser growth
Adviser growth continues to be a major focus for the Group, boosted by the need to service new lead flow whilst using technology to help maximise opportunities from existing customers and lead sources.
Our adviser numbers have started to pick up since the period end, to 1,945 mainstream advisers as at 20 September 2024, and we expect to deliver further growth this year as new ARs are recruited into MAB and our existing ARs start growing adviser numbers again after a sustained period of market-induced consolidation.
With increasing expectations and even higher standards expected from the regulator, more directly authorised firms are seeking greater support from a strategic partner like MAB. We expect the recruitment of growth-driven firms to remain strong, supported by the continued development of our technology platform.
Leveraging associates and subsidiaries
Our subsidiaries and associates have strengthened their businesses and are in a good position to capitalise on a recovering market and make a stronger contribution to the Group’s overall performance.
On 29 May 2024, MAB exercised its option to purchase the remaining 20% stake in First Mortgage Direct (“FMD”) for a total consideration of £9.4m payable as £2.4m of cash consideration and £7.0m of new shares in MAB. Since MAB’s original investment in 2019, FMD has increased profit before tax by over 250%. FMD is now preparing for an accelerated UK expansion.
Management completed the project to right-size the cost base of Fluent in H1 2023, leading to gross profit margin increasing to 32.5% (H1 2023: 21.7%) and Fluent making a positive profit contribution in H1 2024. With a better-balanced cost base, new lead sources and processes, and a strengthened management team, the business is well-positioned for continued recovery and growth into 2025.
We expect strong performance from all our subsidiaries and associates in 2025/26, and we have plans to scale a number of them significantly.
Technology, Automation and AI
Whilst others move away from in-house solutions, technology remains central to our strategy and our investment in our MIDAS Platform, our proprietary technology platform, will continue at the levels required to ensure we are always in the strongest possible position to optimise operational efficiency and drive revenue growth from new lead flow, lead nurture, customer retention, adviser productivity and customer lifetime value.
Our strategy is to continue developing our system, to provide a best-in-class experience for our firms and improve the customer journey. To this end, management is currently reviewing whether the historic accounting policy to fully expense these costs appropriately reflects the expected future economic benefit associated with the ongoing investment.
We are committed to maintaining differentiation through the technological advantage our MIDAS Platform gives us, and our roadmap now incorporates enhanced functionality through the adoption of AI. As with our MIDAS Platform development, automation and AI will significantly contribute to our growth plans and operational efficiency across all areas of the business, as well as future proof our business model and cement our leadership position in the intermediary sector.