In the Group’s interim statement, it revealed that lending via Platform, its intermediary business rose from £0.3bn in 2011 to £0.5bn in H1 2012.
In June, Mortgage Solutions reported that the Platform brand is expected to close before the end of year. In the same month, Platform closed its main office in Canary Wharf and relocated to Manchester.
Platform also restructured its management team, placing James Hilton, head of mortgages for the Co-operative Bank, to take overall responsibility for Platform.
In its interim results, the Group revealed that its General Insurance business delivered an increase in operating profits of £23.5m during H1 2012.
In July, the Co-op agreed to buy 632 branches from the Lloyds banking group, including all of its Cheltenham & Gloucester branches, in a move called Project Verde. The Co-op said it is now working with Lloyds towards agreeing definitive, binding documentation, subject to the satisfactory completion of further due diligence and Board approvals.
“Completion of the transaction is expected before the end of November and will be conditional upon, among many other things, regulatory approvals from the FSA, HM Treasury and the European Commission,” said the group.
Peter Marks, group chief executive of the Co-op Group said: “A year ago I warned that we were operating in the worst conditions that I have seen in more than 40 years in business. The impact has been felt most keenly in our Bank which has been hit by increased impairments on lending to corporate customers and the on-going low-interest-rate environment. On a positive note however, our specialist businesses division continues to perform well and saw a strong increase in profitability in the first half.”
The Group’s operating profit in the six months to the end of June 2012 fell 34% to £174m – down from £264m over the same period last year. In the Banking Group, revenues rose 3.9% to £1.0bn, delivering a profit of £36.9m.
