Together sees uplift in its order book
Specialist lender Together Financial Services said its loan book was returning to growth standing at £3.9bn for the quarter ending March 31, 2021.
Weighted average LTVs of new originations remained conservative at 52.6%, it said.
Average monthly loan originations were down 22% to £125.4m although the group said it was up 68.5% from £74.4m in Q2 2021 as it continued to increase new lending.
Underlying pre-tax profit increased to £44m, up 233.3% compared with £13.2m in the same period last year due mainly to a reduction in impairment charge during the quarter.
Cash receipts remained very robust at £419.4m.
Gerald Grimes, Group CEO Designate of Together, said: “We added further scale and depth to our funding structure, successfully issuing £500m senior secured notes in January, our largest bond issuance to date and the first sterling corporate bond in 2021.
“We also issued the first small balance commercial real estate MBS in the UK since the Global Financial Crisis, for £200m in March. These issuances contributed to the Group having undrawn facility headroom of £1,304m at 31 March.
“While the extended lockdown in the first few months of 2021 is expected to dampen the UK economy in the first half of the year, with the rapid rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine programme many commentators are forecasting strong economic growth in the second half of the year and a return to pre-Covid levels in early 2022.
“With strong levels of capital and liquidity and our modernisation and transformation programmes well underway, we believe Together is well placed to support increasing numbers of customers and to play our part in the UK’s economic recovery.”
