Paragon increases buy-to-let lending by £65m in three months

Friday 29th July 2011

Paragon Mortgages and Mortgage Trust’s parent company, The Paragon Group, has unveiled buy-to-let new lending of £65.7m for the three months to the end of June.

Paragon only returned to buy-to-let lending at the very end of last September after closing its books to new business in February 2008.

The figure demonstrates how Paragon has built up momentum since its return. It represents over two-thirds of Paragon’s buy-to-let new lending completions since the start of its financial year on October 1, 2010.

In its quarterly update to the stock exchange, Paragon said it has completed £99m of buy-to-let business over the past nine months, which includes £3.7m in further advances to existing customers.

Paragon’s Interim Management Statement, which covers the period from April 1 to June 30, also revealed that the credit performance of Paragon’s buy-to-let portfolio continued to improve.

Arrears of more than three months across the portfolio stood at 0.69% at the end of the period, compared to 0.75% at the end of the previous quarter.

John Heron, Paragon Group director of mortgages, said: “We had a strong focus on rebuilding our distribution network and brand awareness following our return to the market and it’s pleasing to see that approach start to deliver.

“We have developed our new lending proposition over the past nine months and now have a comprehensive product set, with Paragon Mortgages focusing on professional landlords and Mortgage Trust catering for the mainstream market.

“The fact that two-thirds of completions came in the third quarter of our financial year alone shows our new lending is building strong momentum.

“Landlords are benefiting from excellent market conditions at the moment, with the highest levels of tenant demand we have seen in modern times, low interest rates and a stable housing market.

“Long-term socio-economic and demographic changes signal sustained growth for the private rented sector, and landlords will be central to driving this growth.”