Fourth consecutive year of record-breaking results at Leeds Building Society
Leeds Building Society has today reported record new highs across its mortgage lending, savings balances and total membership as it publishes its 2024 annual results.
It achieved underlying profit before tax of £187.5m (2023: £181.5m), along with gross mortgage lending of £5.7bn (2023: £4.4bn) and net lending of £2.6bn (2023: £1.5bn), representing a 12% increase year-on-year.
First-time buyers represented almost half (47%) of all new mortgages in 2024.
The building society also reported record net savings growth in the year of £3.7bn (2023: £3.3bn). Total savings balances reached a record of £24.5bn, over 18% higher than 2023 (2023: £20.8bn).
Leeds Building Society currently has 991,000 members (2023: 919,000), the highest number in its 150-year history.
Richard Fearon, chief executive officer, said: “Our total membership reached an all-time high at the end of 2024. Mortgage completions broke records and savings balances are higher than they have ever been.
“Interest payments above and beyond the average market rate totalled £175m, as we continue to demonstrate value to our members.
“Our underlying profit of £187.5m resulted from record trading performance in a turbulent market for both savers and borrowers.
“As a mutual, we don’t have any external shareholders to pay dividends to, and our strong financial performance allows us to invest significantly in our business.”
Such investment has included the mutual’s branch network, at a time when many banks are retreating from the high street. At the end of 2024 it opened its 51st branch, in Solihull, West Midlands.
The building society adds that it responded to increased demand for cash ISAs in 2024. ISA balances reached £15bn, and new ISA account openings in 2024 were four times higher than in 2020.
Fearon noted that building societies account for about 40% of the cash ISA market and voiced his opposition to recent suggestions to cut the amount people are allowed to save within these accounts.
He said: “It’s naïve at best, or deliberate misinformation at worst, for fund managers to say money saved in cash ISAs is dormant. We use it to fuel our mortgage lending.
“If you significantly reduce that funding, mortgage rates would become more expensive for borrowers.
“At a time when the cost of living continues to impact millions of people, the last thing that people need is to have greater pressure on their mortgage bills.”
