According to Together’s interim results for the year ended 30 June, the group net loan book rose by 7.2% to £7.9bn and the average monthly lending increased 5.6% to £263.6m.
Arrears increased to 5.5% in the first half of the year from 4.7% at the end of last year. The firm said there was a “flattening in the second half of [the] year” due to “proactive collection strategies” and Bank of England base rate reductions.
Together’s underlying profit before tax came to £216.1m, an increase of 7%.
The company said its transformation programme has “progressed into [the] testing phase” and it had launched a “refreshed strategy” of invest, optimise and grow.
It added that it had raised or refinanced over £5bn of facilities across nine transactions over the year to “support growth ambitions”.
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Richard Rowntree, group CEO of Together, said: “Together delivered another strong performance during the year, with the loan book reaching a new high of £7.9bn, net interest margin remaining highly attractive at 5.5% and underlying profit before tax up 7% on last year.
“We continued to build on our past success to take the business to the next level, launching our refreshed strategy, progressing our lending system and data platform transformation programme into the build and test phase and strengthening and diversifying our executive management team and board. We also raised or refinanced over £5bn of funding facilities to support our long-term growth ambitions.”
He added: “Looking forward, the outlook for the UK economy is mixed, with expectations of further interest rate cuts offset by global economic uncertainty, continued trade disruption and a weaker jobs market.
“However, with changing working patterns, a rise in multiple incomes and other long-term structural trends supporting an increase in demand within our market, we remain cautiously optimistic and are well-positioned to continue to help customers realise their property ambitions, as we have for more than 50 years.”
