The Mortgage Advice Bureau has announced plans to float on AIM.

The company has 600 advisers, the large majority of whom work out of, or are aligned with, 900 estate agency offices.

Last year, MAB made an adjusted pre-tax profit of £5.2m, suggesting that it could be valued at ten to 15 times that amount.

MAB is planning a 45% free float, which would result in Peter Birch – who received shares in MAB when it acquired Mortgage Talk in 2012 – fully exiting the business.

All other shareholders would retain the majority of their shares post-listing.

Stock market conditions will dictate the ultimate timing of the listing.

The current board of three – chief executive Peter Brodnicki, chief operating officer David Preece and finance director Paul Robinson – will be increased to six following the appointment of three non-executive directors.

They are named as Katherine Innes Ker, Nathan Imlach and Richard Verdin. Innes Ker will serve as MAB’s non-executive chairman.

Peter Brodnicki said: “The MAB journey has been an exciting one, even throughout the recession, and our proposed AIM listing is another milestone in MAB’s history.

“It also ensures that the running of the company remains 100% in our hands, whilst providing an ideal platform for the future, as we look to capitalise on the tremendous opportunities for intermediaries as change in our industry continues to gather pace.

“The team at MAB has worked hard to build a mortgage and protection network we can be proud of, which has attracted forward-thinking and ambitious intermediary firms.

“We have also built a leading UK mortgage intermediary brand with a focus on the quality of distribution and the customer experience.”

He added: “The UK mortgage market provides those seeking amortgage with a choice of over 70 lenders and many thousands of mortgage products.

“The majority of borrowers use an intermediary and, following the Mortgage Market Review which introduced the requirement for advice on residential mortgages, the number of borrowers seeking advice from intermediaries is increasing.

“With product choice continuing to improve, which is good news for our customers, I believe the future for the mortgage intermediary is extremely positive.”