During the year the business struck new partnerships with Mojo, Legal & General, Chimnie, Adviser Services Holdings, and Unbiased, as conveyancer instructions rose 5% to 69,976 in the 12 months to the end of March.  

Following last September’s tax-cutting mini-Budget “both transactional and remortgage instructions fell sharply” as mortgage rates rose only to “recover significantly” in the fourth quarter as the market stabilised, the firm says.

During the final three months of its financial year, its remortgage business was boosted by extending an existing relationship with Lloyds Banking Group.  

Smoove connects homebuyers, brokers, conveyancers and estate agents on its platform.  

The Aim-listed firm, led by chief executive Jesper With-Fogstrup, says it expects its “cash burn to significantly reduce in the current financial year”, adding that the outlook for the coming year is in line with the board’s expectations.  

Last month, the group said it was in “early” takeover talks with Australian rival Pexa Group about a cash offer for the business.  

The firm did not update the market on the progress of talks with Pexa.  

Smoove chief executive With-Fogstrup says: “While last year was not without its challenges, we repositioned where necessary while the successful launch of new products added to our flexibility and resilience.   

“The upswing during the fourth quarter was testament to the strength of our model as we successfully grew the number of instructions and completions.”  

Pexa Group, which has a similar business to Smoove in the Australian market, has until 22 May to make a formal offer for the UK firm, or must walk away for 12 months, under UK takeover rules.  

Smoove, founded in 2003, posted sales of £19.2m last year, turning in a loss of £5.1m.    

Pexa Group, established in 2018 and run by chief executive Glenn King, posted sales of A$279.8m (£150.4m) last year and moved from a loss of A$11.79m to net income of A$21.85m.       

Shares in Smoove were down 2.5% at 43p in afternoon trading, valuing the business at £24.5m