Group sees increased lending to new homeowners despite lower profit
Skipton Group increased its UK mortgage market share to 1.87% in the first half of 2025, up from 1.78% a year earlier, while expanding its mortgage book by 6.9% to £32.2 billion.
Overall, Skipton Group’s pre-tax profit fell to £135.1 million from £157 million, which the company said was due to increased staff investment and impairment charges. The net interest margin improved from 1.27% to 1.3%, supported by favourable funding costs.
Skipton Building Society, the group’s core business, recorded a pre-tax profit of £101.1 million, compared to £113 million in 2024. The company cited higher investment and increased loan impairment charges as factors impacting profit, despite an improved net interest margin.
During the six-month period to June, Skipton supported 12,322 first-time buyers, an increase from 9,756 in the same period last year. Lending to new homeowners accounted for 50% of its total, up from 43% previously.
The group highlighted the launch of its Delayed Start mortgage, which allows buyers to defer repayments for the first three months. The product received 151 applications in its first month.
Across the group, the proportion of UK residential mortgages in arrears of three months or more rose slightly to 0.32%, compared to 0.27% last year.
Meanwhile, Skipton International, the group’s offshore banking subsidiary, posted a pre-tax profit of £6.8 million, down from £18.2 million a year earlier. The decrease was attributed to a deliberate slowdown in lending and external market conditions, which reduced mortgage returns.
Connells, Skipton’s estate agency arm, reported a pre-tax profit of £28.4 million, up from £20 million last year. The company attributed the improvement to increased housing market activity, particularly ahead of changes to stamp duty in April.
“We are growing faster than the market, supporting our members and customers with quality products and services, maintaining strong capital growth and delivering against our purpose through innovation and challenging the status quo,” said Stuart Haire (pictured), group chief executive at Skipton Group
“As the government continues to advocate for increasing the growth, relevance and development of the mutual sector, we are ready to share the benefits of membership with more people across the UK.
“None of what we have achieved would be possible without our people, and I would like to thank each and every one of my colleagues across the group for their dedication, drive and unwavering focus on delivering for our members.”
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