Vida Homeloans owner Belmont Green says its gross new lending jumped 72% to £795m last year, from the previous 12 months, as the business “adapted to changing market circumstances”.
The specialist lender chief executive Anth Mooney says “trading was tough going at times during 2022” but a combination of continued loan growth, widening net interest margins and tight cost control helped boost the firm, he says in its annual report.
Last year was marked by nine interest rate rises by the Bank of England, inflation climbing to 40-year highs and mass mortgage product withdrawals and repricing following the September mini-Budget.
During 2022 the lender completed its eighth residential mortgage-backed security transaction raising £400m, which was followed by another £350m deal in January.
Also, the firm launched its V-Hub in December, which allows brokers to speak to its underwriting team and “understand up-front the drivers of the decision and requirements for any supporting documentation”.
Its continuing application to become a bank “is in train, with a detailed work programme fully mobilised in the business”.
However, the lender’s pre-tax profit fell 48% to £1.4m in 2022, although it adds its underlying core operating profit of £11.6m is more than one-and-a-half times higher than a year ago.
Mooney adds: “We enter 2023 in a confident position, with committed funding capacity in place, a high-quality loan book, a strong capital base, cautious provisioning and a well-established distribution franchise – we are well placed to execute on our plans for the year ahead.”
