Commercial Finance
Cambridge and Counties’ gross lending rises 47 per cent to £323m
Cambridge and Counties Bank’s gross new lending in 2021 rose by almost half to £323m, driven by demand for real estate finance, asset finance and classic car loans.
According to its latest results, its gross customer loans and advances increased to £993m, up 18 per cent compared to the previous year.
Asset finance lending rose by 29 per cent year-on-year to £54m, and car finance increased by a third to £36m.
The lender delivered a post-tax product of £15.5m in 2021, an increase of 65 per cent compared to 2020, and its return on equity came to 9.5 per cent, which is up from 6.4 per cent in the previous year.
Cambridge and Counties grew its average number of employees to 183, and made appointments in Scotland, the Midlands and the South East.
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Donald Kerr (pictured), chief executive at Cambridge and Counties Bank, said: “While the pandemic remained a challenge for all of us in 2021, the UK economy improved, and the bank was well positioned to meet demand through our competitive products and client centred approach. Our valued relationship with brokers remains our focus and a key foundation of our growth.”
He added that it committed to growing its reach to serve customers and brokers, would invest more in people and technology and deliver an “even richer service”.
Kerr continued that it had “significant success” in its ESG programme, including offsetting 100 tonnes of carbon emissions and exploring climate risk impact on customers and products. He said it would continuously improve its approach to sustainability and social responsibility.
Simon Moore, chairman at Cambridge and Counties Bank, said: “The pandemic has accelerated the pace of change in our industry. We are investing in accelerating our capabilities; allowing us to embed our manual underwriting approach in risk assessment and pricing to the benefit of our customers.
“While uncertainty persists post pandemic, including the Ukraine conflict, global supply chain disruption, and high inflation, we see customer demand remaining robust and opportunities continuing to emerge. We have the right strategy, business model and ambition to deliver on the bank’s potential.”