Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) has taken a majority ownership stake in protection advice firm Vita Financial as it seeks to expand in the protection insurance market.
The network said it increased its shareholding in the Cardiff-based adviser from 49% to 75% this month and called it a “strategically important step”.
The details were released as part of MAB’s trading update for the half year to 30 June.
In it, MAB said: “Following the period end, the group increased its stake from 49% to 75% in Vita Financial Limited, a leading protection and general insurance advice firm.
“This is a strategically important step for the group as we look to achieve an even stronger market presence in this area.”
The move followed the purchase of 75.4% of Fluent Money for £72.7m that also completed earlier this month.
Announcing that deal, which included options to buy the remaining shareholdings, MAB said it was looking to focus on higher margin protection opportunities in the business.
Health & Protection contacted Vita for comment.
Adviser numbers up 8%
In the update MAB revealed revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2022 increased 3% to around £95m from £92m during the same period last year when mortgage completions had been considerably boosted by the stamp duty holiday.
The average number of mainstream advisers during the period increased by 19% to 1,890 from 1,584 with total adviser numbers at 30 June up 8% to 2,034 from 1,885 at 31 December.
The group’s adjusted profit before tax for the year ending 31 December 2022 is expected to be in line with market expectations.
MAB CEO Peter Brodnicki said: “Despite the obvious frustrations with the pace of completion of housing purchase transactions, our growth plans have been further boosted this year by the acquisition of Fluent Money.
“The expected performance of this strong business, and the leverage it will provide to drive new and significant lead flow into MAB, added to continued strong adviser growth and ongoing enhancements in our technology platform, further supports our plan for accelerated growth into 2023 and beyond regardless of market conditions.”