MortgagesMay 23 2017

Paragon increases profits as new lending picks up

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Paragon increases profits as new lending picks up

Paragon Group, the parent company for Paragon Mortgages, increased its profits during the six months ending in March.

The company posted profits of £70.1m, compared with £69.4m in the same period last year.

After a quiet end to the previous year – following the large increase in activity caused by the stamp duty increase – new mortgage lending picked up again at the beginning of the new year.

Paragon saw new mortgage lending of £556.2m – up 65 per cent.

There was strong growth in lending during the six months as interest from portfolio landlords picked up.

Completions in the second quarter increasing 100.3 per cent to £371m compared to £185.2m in the first quarter.

John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages, said: “The buy-to-let market is changing as a result of the developments in tax and regulatory policy towards the sector.

“We have seen greater polarisation in recent months in the market as professional landlords have shaped their investment strategies to mitigate the impact of these changes.

“With many years’ experience in delivering the more specialist products and services that these landlords require, Paragon is clearly in a strong position to benefit from this significant realignment in the market.”

An increased proportion of applications were received from landlords with more specialist needs, with six out of ten pipeline applications (64.7 per cent) coming from landlords with larger and more complex property portfolios.

More than a quarter of pipeline applications (26.5 per cent) were from landlords operating in limited company structures.

damian.fantato@ft.com