Mortgage Times auditors raise concerns about its future
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Independent auditors of The Mortgage Times Group have raised concerns about the group’s future after it posted an operating loss of £1.3m for 2008.
In the Group’s accounts filed to Companies House, the auditors Kingston Smith says: “The global economic and financial downturn has impacted significantly on the group’s activities and it has made an operating loss of £1,335,705 for 2008 and has net current liabilities of £1,509,470 at 31 December 2008.
“This indicates the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
But Kingston Smith goes on to say that the company directors expect “substantial additional income” to the group in the rest of 2009 and in future years, from the launch of a “new advanced mortgage portal”.
The auditors also say the group has continued to operate within its bank overdraft facilities which, although repayable on demand, are available until at least March 2010 and that directors have taken measure to substantially reduce costs, while long-term finance has been provided by the shareholders.
The group’s turnover in 2008 was £25.9m compared to £43.8m in 2007, while operating profit was down from -£110,845 in 2007 to -£1.3m in 2008.
Net current liabilities grew from -£434,714 in 2007 to -£1.5m in 2008.
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Readers' comments (8)
Mark Barlow | 9 Nov 2009 1:31 pm
No more than expected
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Anonymous | 9 Nov 2009 1:44 pm
It is unfortunate that the reporting of this situation will now hasten the demise of MT. A duty to report but it will almost certainly send the weaker minded in other directions. I sense ghoulish delight in the perils of others. Non magnification of this fact may have allowed MT to redress the balance. Too late now.
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Anonymous | 9 Nov 2009 2:25 pm
I'm surprised to see this is actually reported, normally MT seem to stay below the radar while it's competitors took daily lashings.
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Confused IFA | 9 Nov 2009 3:09 pm
Now as a directly regulated firm, I have to have net capital adequacy of £10,000, soon to be increased to £20,000 net cpital adequacy of which £20k has to be in cash. Surely MT has at least the same requirement for net capital adequacy of little old me and yet they are quoted as having net current liabilities of £1,509,470!
Can some bright spark at the FSA explain this to me?
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Anonymous | 9 Nov 2009 5:32 pm
Maybe the FSA should be looking into this and why, as an appointed rep of MT we havn't been getting paid on biz done for the past 6 months
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Anonymous | 9 Nov 2009 8:23 pm
Unfortunately the writing is on the wall for MT. It is a great shame as they were one of the most innovative new entrants in the market over recent years.
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Anonymous | 10 Nov 2009 11:21 am
MT rapid rise was on the back of Slef cert and adverse credit mortgages.
RDR will wipe out another 15-35 big firms by 2015.
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James | 10 Nov 2009 1:52 pm
I think the writing has been on the wall for some time. For most of 2008 they blaimed computer difficulties for payments, they withheld payments due to brokers and generally upset those that had worked hard for them, is the comments by the auditors really that much of a surprise? I think not.
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