In Skipton Building Society’s results for the six months to June 2024, the mutual said its mortgage balances increased 10.8% to £30.1bn and it maintained its 2.91% market share. 

Charlotte Harrison (pictured), CEO of home financing at Skipton Building Society, said: “These are a strong set of results and it’s particularly encouraging to see 41% of all our new lending going to first-time buyers.

“Last week’s launch of the Skipton Group Home Affordability Index makes clear the significant challenge the UK faces in helping more people buy their first home. Working with the businesses across the Skipton Group, it’s important we continue to develop innovative products to play our part in driving collaborative change across the UK housing sector.” 

Additionally, the mutual’s Track Record mortgage delivered £108m in applications since its launch last year, while 90,000 of its Lifetime ISA savers purchased their first home. 

Harrison added: “Over the last six months, we have continued to see products such as Skipton’s Income Booster and the innovative Track Record 100% mortgage provide a vital helping hand to many first-time buyers who initially thought it wouldn’t be possible to take a step onto the property ladder.” 

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Just 0.27% of the Skipton Group’s UK residential mortgages were in arrears of three months or more, which it said was below the industry average of 0.94%, according to UK Finance data. 

Skipton Building Society did not disclose its gross lending figure for the period. 

The mutual posted a profit of £118.8m for the period, up from £112.7m in H1 2023. 

 

The Skipton Group’s performance 

Skipton International, the group’s offshore buy-to-let (BTL) lender, delivered a profit before tax of £18.2m, down on a figure of £24.5m last year. 

Its subsidiary Connells Group achieved profits of £20m, up from a loss of £5.8m in 2023, which it owed to the recovery of the UK housing market. 

The Skipton Group delivered a profit before tax of £157m, a 5% annual increase, while its underlying profit came to £149.1m, higher than £143.8m a year ago. 

Stuart Haire, Skipton Group’s chief executive, said: “Skipton’s first half performance has seen very encouraging progress to create a stronger, more sustainable and more purposeful Skipton Group. The recent launch of our Home Affordability Index makes clear the significant challenge the UK faces in helping more people buy their first home. Given our position as the largest owner of estate agencies in the UK, we continue to develop innovative products, such as Track Record, to play our part in driving collaborative change across the UK housing sector. 

“We delivered a strong first-half financial performance, driven by growth in mortgages and savings balances, which has seen us generate a group profit before tax of £157m. We’ve maintained our financial strength and disciplined approach to managing arrears, while also investing in our members, group capabilities, and strengthening our executive team.”