Nationwide profits surge by a third on mortgage boom

Nationwide has unveiled a 34 per cent increase in profits as it benefits from the boom in mortgage lending.

Nationwide has posted a 34% jump in first-half profits. Picture: Paul Faith/PA Wire

The UK’s largest building society said pre-tax profits for the six months to the end of September came in at £802 million, up from £598m on the same period last year.

It was helped by a 14 per cent increase in its residential mortgage lending, taking the total amount lent to customers to a record £14.9 billion.

The firm’s figures come a day after the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that borrowing by British homeowners had reached its highest level since 2008.

Outgoing chief executive Graham Beale said the building society had also increased savings balances by £2.6bn and opened more than 250,000 new personal current accounts.

“This has been our best ever half-year of mortgage lending, along with a strong inflow of savings and the opening of over a quarter of a million new current accounts,” he said.

“Our first-half performance reflects the growing strength and security of the society, with all of our core product areas delivering standout results.”

Earlier this week, Nationwide revealed that BT Openreach chief executive Joe Garner would become its new chief executive next year, replacing Beale, who announced his intention to leave Nationwide earlier this year.