Aldermore loan book grows through SME demand

The bank, founded by former Barclays executive Phillip Monks, said net loans to customers rose to £5.8bn at the end of September from £4.8bn on December 31.

Aldermore, among a handful of London-listed banks set up to challenge the dominance of Britain’s big five lenders, said on Thursday that it was on track to achieve its net loan growth target of about £1.4bn for the full year.

Lending to homeowners rose to £3.1bn at the end of September, while lending to small and medium-sized businesses totalled £2.7bn.

Aldermore joins rivals Virgin Money, OneSavings Bank and Shawbrook Group in reporting higher lending fuelled by a housing recovery and demand from small and medium-sized enterprises.

UK mortgage lending rose in September at the fastest rate since 2008, reflecting a rise in approvals in recent months that has helped to underpin growth at Aldermore and other challenger banks with loan books skewed towards residential mortgages.

The number of new approvals, however, dipped for the first time in four months, casting uncertainty over the pace of economic recovery in the final months of the year.

Aldermore was founded in 2009, with backing from private equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners, and has been publicly listed since March. Its shares have risen by more than a third since its stock market debut.

Customer deposits rose about 20 per cent in the first nine months to £5.4bn. Deposits by small and medium-sized businesses rose to £1.3bn, Aldermore said.

Aldermore’s shares closed at 287p on Wednesday.