Whiteaway Laidlaw sale boosts MBS’s coffers
MANCHESTER Building Society increased pre-tax profits by 50% to £600,000 in 2011 as its income grew by 39% to £10.3m.
However, its gross profit figure after tax was £6.35m, which includes a £5.2m surplus generated from its sale of subsidiary bank Whiteaway Laidlaw to an equity arm of Royal Bank of Scotland in January 2011.
The society’s chairman, Michael Prior, said the sale “enabled the society to report a record surplus after tax for the year and to improve its capital position, whilst maintaining its focus on prime mortgage lending funded by our retail deposit base”.
The total amount of assets held by the society fell by almost 2% to £878m (£894m). The amount of provisions made for bad or doubtful debts also more than doubled to £3.9m (£1.9m).
Despite this, the society said that the ratio of management expenses to income was at its lowest ever reported level.
Prior said: “Given the ongoing difficult financial environment, our current business model is cautious in assuming an unchanged bank base rate over the medium term.
“Careful management of the balance sheet enables the society to focus on its core priority, being the enhancement of regulatory capital over the medium term through increasing levels of general reserves.”
