Mortgage lending boosts Leeds Building Society

Chief executive Peter Hill said a strong profit performance driven by the growth in lending has enabled ongoing investment in the business to further develop the service proposition and provide long-term value to a growing membership.

Operating profit before exceptional items rose by 26 per cent to a record £80.9m, in 2013 it was £64.2m.

New residential mortgage lending increased by 24 per cent to £2.7bn (£2.2bn 2013), significantly above our market share.

Mr Hill said: “I am proud to report this excellent performance, which builds on similarly successful results we’ve delivered over the past three years.

“These achievements illustrate how our growth strategy – including investing in the best talent and modernising our brand and the ways in which we can meet our members’ needs – is enabling us to compete with larger rivals to attract more savers and borrowers in a challenging marketplace.”

He added that the rise in profits was down to growth in mortgage lending.

“I am pleased to report that we continue to attract mortgage business well above our market share1 and in 2014 we helped more than 7,800 First Time Buyers to step onto the property ladder, accounting for over a third of our total lending by value,” said Mr Hill.

In 2014 Leeds Building Society attracted 69,000 new members taking total membership to a record 721,000 up from 714,000 in 2013.