Manx Financial Group plc (LON:MFX), the diversified financial services group serving the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom, has provided the following operational update on trading, strategic progress and the Group’s priorities for sustainable shareholder value creation. This update covers H1 2026 and contains key KPI’s, along with operational developments within the Group, ahead of the publication of the Group’s interim results later this month. All figures are subject to audit confirmation.
The Group’s progress is being driven by three complementary areas: Conister Bank’s disciplined deployment of liquidity and continued growth; Payment Assist Limited’s expansion in line with the Group’s long-term strategy; and the development and potential monetisation of investments held through Manx Ventures Limited.
Highlights
· Conister Bank increased its loan-to-deposit ratio to 93.1% from 90.1% and improved its operating income margin to 55.3% from 54.8% in the second quarter (versus the first quarter);
· Conister Bank successfully introduced AI and automated processes to its Discretionary Commission Arrangements restitution process thereby improving customer interaction at a significantly reduced cost;
· Payment Assist’s core automotive Buy Now Pay Later lending volume increased to £71.2 million in H1 2026 from £54.0 million in H1 2025, an increase of 31.9%;
· Payment Assist passed £1 billion in cumulative customer transactions since launch; a milestone reached in May 2026;
· Payment Assist added several new franchise dealer groups, a leading national car supermarket brand and further finance and warranty partners during the quarter, details of which are set out below;
· Portfolio companies within Manx Ventures continued to grow, and the Board remains open to acquisitions that could expand sector reach and scale and would be value-additive to the Group as a whole; and
· The Group’s Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) strategy as announced at the recent AGM has commenced.
Douglas Grant, Group CEO, commented:
“The Group delivered strong operational growth despite challenging macroeconomic conditions. Conister Bank continued to deploy liquidity efficiently, Payment Assist increased lending volumes, expanded its partnerships and broadened its product offering, and we began implementing the AI strategy announced at our AGM. These developments strengthen the Group’s earnings potential, improve operating efficiency and support our objective of delivering sustainable long-term value for shareholders.”
Overview
The Group’s core loan book grew steadily during Q2, in line with management expectations. Its long-term strategy is to deploy surplus liquidity efficiently into a growing and diversified lending portfolio across the Isle of Man and the UK and, subject to regulatory approval, the European Union. This disciplined approach is intended to support sustainable earnings growth while maintaining appropriate liquidity and capital resources.
Global macroeconomic uncertainty continues, with conflict in the Middle East contributing to inflationary pressures and placing further strain on household and small-business finances. In this environment, the Group’s short-term lending products provide customers with access to flexible funding.
With regard to the Discretionary Commission Arrangements (“DCA”) redress scheme, the Board currently expects that no further provisions will be required. To operate the scheme efficiently and effectively, the Group implemented AI and automated processes within its DCA claims-handling process, delivering significant operational savings compared with the estimated cost of using a third-party processor. As presented at the recent AGM, the Group is actively pursuing opportunities to broaden the use of automated processes and further improve operational efficiency.
The Group remains in dialogue with the Irish regulator regarding its application for a consumer credit licence. If granted, the licence is expected to provide opportunities to passport certain lending products across the EU, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.
The Group’s portfolio companies performed in line with expectations. Payment Assist continued to expand its BNPL book into new products and markets within and beyond automotive lending, while Manx Ventures continued to identify businesses that can use Conister Bank’s funding capabilities to accelerate growth. This model is intended to combine lending income with the potential for longer-term equity value creation.
During the first half, the Group presented at the ShareSoc Leeds and Mello2026 investor events in April and June, respectively, and held its Annual General Meeting on 18 June at The Claremont Hotel in Douglas, Isle of Man. The Group will continue its shareholder engagement through the Investor Summit in September and the publication of its H1 results, providing further opportunities to explain performance, strategy and capital-allocation priorities.
The Board remains encouraged by the Group’s underlying operational performance and believes the progress made during the period provides a sound platform for continued growth. It remains focused on converting that operational momentum into sustainable earnings while maintaining disciplined capital allocation and appropriate regulatory headroom.
Conister Bank Limited
Conister Bank delivered a resilient performance in Q2, maintaining strong lending momentum while preserving its reserves of robust liquidity and capital position. The loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 93.1% from 90.1% at the end of Q1, reflecting continued demand for its lending products during the quarter. Supported by a stable funding base and prudent treasury management, the Bank remained comfortably above all regulatory liquidity requirements.
Conister Bank continued to deliver strong profitability. Its operating income margin, calculated as operating income as a percentage of average interest-earning assets, improved to 55.3% from 54.8% in Q1, supported by lower commission costs and higher realised gains on debt securities. Net interest income yield remained robust at 8.90% in Q2.
Capital strength improved during the quarter, with Tier 1 capital increasing to £47.3 million from £44.0 million. The Total Capital Ratio increased to 15.8% from 15.2%, leaving Conister Bank with a solid capital base from which to support future lending growth while remaining above its regulatory requirements.
Conister Bank has completed negotiations with Fiinu Plc regarding the proposed Conister Overdraft product. Management confirms the signing of the commercial agreement on 3 September 2026 and now expects the product to be delivered in mid-December.
Payment Assist Limited
Payment Assist delivered a strong first half of 2026, with core automotive Buy Now Pay Later lending increasing to 126,500 loans and £71.2 million of volume, up 13.2% and 31.9%, respectively, from 111,800 loans and £54.0 million in H1 2025. Payment Assist continued to gain market share in its core markets while using its existing capabilities to expand into complementary sectors.
During the quarter, Payment Assist signed several significant new partners, including franchise dealer groups and a growing number of independent operators with up to ten sites each. The business also secured an agreement with a national car supermarket brand and expanded its partner network to include a leading UK vehicle warranty provider.
Payment Assist is developing a customer lifetime value proposition for its base of more than one million motorists. By extending beyond repair finance into car insurance, breakdown cover, credit checking and repair services, the business aims to increase engagement, repeat usage and revenue per customer while positioning itself as a broader financial partner to UK motorists.
The business is also developing a ‘garage wallet’, enabling customers to use their Payment Assist facility across its network of more than 9,000 partner sites rather than only at the garage where the facility was originated. The product is designed to increase repeat usage, improve customer retention and generate greater value from Payment Assist’s existing customer and partner networks.
During the period, Payment Assist launched Ignition, an all-in-one payments platform for the automotive sector. Ignition combines everyday payment methods with Payment Assist’s flexible finance options, including BNPL, Pay in 30 Days, interest-free instalments, longer-term finance for higher-value purchases and business lending. Designed for businesses ranging from independent garages to large dealer groups, the platform reduces reliance on multiple payment providers and gives customers greater choice at the point of purchase. Its launch marks Payment Assist’s development from a specialist automotive finance provider into a broader payments technology business.
The Board expects the investment required to scale Ignition to broaden Payment Assist’s addressable market and contribute to future earnings growth. The timing and extent of that contribution will depend on customer adoption and the pace of rollout.
Marcus Gregory, Payment Assist CEO, said:
“When we became part of Manx Financial Group, we were challenged to grow Payment Assist, and this quarter demonstrates exactly that. We are lending better, we are lending to a broader range of customers, diversifying our product offering and we are building the infrastructure to keep that growth going.”
Manx Ventures
Manx Ventures, the Group’s venture capital arm, continued to perform in line with Board expectations. Its portfolio companies continued to develop, and the Group is evaluating potential routes to realise value for shareholders, including partial sales, joint ventures and other liquidity events. The Group also remains open to value-accretive acquisitions that could broaden its sector exposure and increase scale.
Manx Ventures reflects the Group’s strategy of identifying equity investments in businesses that can use funding provided through Conister Bank to support growth and improve profitability.
Artificial Intelligence strategy
At the June AGM, the Group provided an update on its AI and technology programme, focusing on the practical benefits that could be delivered across the Group’s operations.
The Group continues to progress its AI strategy, focusing on decision support and workflow enablement while maintaining full human oversight and accountability. The programme is intended to reduce processing costs, improve scalability and strengthen customer outcomes across the Group’s banking and other financial services businesses.
A significant application of the Group’s AI capability has been within Conister Bank’s implementation of the Financial Conduct Authority’s Discretionary Commission Arrangements redress scheme. AI-assisted tooling has been deployed to analyse and categorise large volumes of complaint and customer correspondence, extract key data points and support the generation of customer communications, while ensuring all final decisions and customer outcomes remain subject to human review and governance controls.
The Group’s broader AI roadmap includes enhancements to customer relationship management, service automation, analytics and operational efficiency. Management will assess these initiatives by reference to processing time, cost reduction, service quality and customer outcomes.
The Group continues to develop its AI governance framework and operating model, including defined human oversight, data-protection, model-validation and accountability controls, to support responsible and transparent deployment in line with regulatory expectations.
Outlook
The Group will continue to focus on disciplined loan growth, improved operating efficiency and the development of scalable products across Conister Bank and its other core subsidiaries. Management will also seek to convert the Group’s recent operational progress into sustainable earnings growth while maintaining appropriate capital and liquidity resources.
The Board believes current market conditions may present opportunities for value-accretive acquisitions, and management is evaluating suitable targets. Any acquisition would be assessed against disciplined financial and strategic criteria, including its expected return on invested capital, integration requirements and ability to broaden the Group’s sector, geographic or product exposure.
Douglas Grant, Group CEO
