Q1 Mortgage Lending Shows Strong Growth at Paragon

Specialist lender Paragon Banking Group has reported a 41% increase in new lending across all business lines in the first quarter (Q1) of the year, to deliver £661m of new lending.

Within this total, Paragon’s mortgage lending grew by 22% to £449m, with buy-to-let advances up by 24% to £425m.

Paragon increased its share of more specialist, professional landlord business in Q1, with 88% of completions from complex landlords, including those operating through incorporated structures.

At the end of December 2018, Paragon’s buy-to-let lending pipeline stood at £729m. This marks an increase of 18% compared to the same point last year.

Paragon also demonstrated strong progress in its commercial lending division, to achieve a 105% increase in lending to £212m, compared with £103m in Q1 2018.

John Heron, the Managing Director of Mortgages at Paragon, comments on the latest report: “The Group has started the year well, delivering strong growth across all our core business lines. Our buy-to-let mortgage capability continues to go from strength to strength, as we expand our specialist proposition to meet the needs of larger scale landlords with more complex portfolios.”

Although Paragon’s figures don’t speak for the whole of the lending market, it is positive to see some growth at the beginning of this year, following more subdued levels of lending in recent months.

For landlords changing the structures of their lettings businesses, due to tax and regulatory changes, it is also good news to see the bank adapting its lending conditions to cater to this more specialist sector of the market.

We’d love to hear from landlords regarding their future borrowing plans – are you thinking of investing further in buy-to-let? Have you changed the structure of your portfolio to reflect the changing times? What type of mortgage will you be looking at in the future? Let us know!