Shawbrook Group says its loan book jumped 15% to £13.8bn in the first three months of the year, compared to a year ago, and sees “a notable improvement in sentiment across our specialist markets”.  

The specialist bank adds first-quarter growth was driven by its small business and real estate units — which covers landlord, bridging and commercial property lending.  

The firm – which owns Bluestone Mortgages and The Mortgage Lender – points out that its arrears ratio remained “robust” at 2.5%, compared to 2.3% at the end of last year.  

Its deposit book lifted 8.8% to £14.8bn, from the end of last year, driven by seasonal ISA demand, it says in a stock market update to the end of March.  

Also, last month the group completed a £557m securitisation of buy-to-let loans originated by The Mortgage Lender, called Lanebrook Mortgage Transaction 2024-1.  

It says the move “supports our funding diversification strategy and reinforces our position as a solid repeat issuer in the debt capital markets”.  

Shawbrook Group chief executive Marcelino Castrillo adds: “The macroeconomic landscape continues to evolve and we remain encouraged by the versatility of our ‘best of both’ model and the resilient performance we have delivered to date.   

“While we are seeing a gradual but notable improvement in sentiment across our specialist markets, our expert portfolio management teams continue to work closely with customers.”