Skipton Building Society sees profits rise as mortgage market improves
SKIPTON Building Society today announced its pre-tax profits for the first half of this year were almost as much as profits for the whole of 2012.
The North Yorkshire-based mutual said that pre-tax profits for the six months to June 30 increased by 59% to £34.4m, up from £21.7m in the first half of 2012, and compared to £35.4m during the whole of last year.
It increased gross mortgage lending by 64% to £1.09bn and added 11,000 customers during the last six months with net lending growing by £455m, representing a growth in mortgage balances of 4.4% in a period where overall UK residential mortgage lending was flat.
Retail savings balances increased by £319m to £9.739bn, representing a growth of 3.4% while mortgage arrears (where the arrears balance was greater than 2.5% of the total outstanding balance) declined to 1.16% from 1.30%, which compares favourably to an industry average of 1.42% (per Council of Mortgage Lenders figures at 31 March 2013).
The Skipton’s estate agency division, Connells, increased its profits by 24% to £23m compared to £18.5m for the six months as a result of a 16.8% increase in house sales.
Its mortgage servicing business, Homeloan Management Limited (HML), continues to trade profitably in a subdued mortgage outsourcing market, and made a pre-tax profit of £0.3m, compared to £0.1m for the six months ended 30 June 2012.
David Cutter, Skipton Group chief executive, said: “I am delighted to report a 
59% increase in profits at the same time as growth in mortgage and savings balances and capital ratios.”
“I am particularly pleased at the way in which we have achieved our results. We remain committed to being an organisation that cares about our customers, continually offering good value products to our members, backed up by outstanding personal service.”
