It said gross mortgage lending for the first half to 30 June was just under £90m, with the market spurred by the introduction of the stamp duty holiday last July after almost grinding to a halt in the first few months of the pandemic.

The firm’s home loans in this period more also than doubled its mortgage lending in the first half of last year.

It boosted its total number of mortgage members to 9,217 in the period, from 9,138 at the end of 2020.

The firm said it enjoyed “strong results and a growth in membership numbers today in what has been a remarkable first half to 2021”. 

During the period the mutual returned to the 95% loan to value market for local key workers, launched an exclusive 90% LTV product for builder Homes by Esh for homebuyers in the North East, and introduced a holiday-let mortgage. 

This year it also became one of eight lenders across the country to pilot the government’s First Homes scheme, aimed at helping local young people and key workers on to the housing ladder.

Darlington Building Society chief executive Andrew Craddock says the results are “evidence that the society’s strength of character and clear strategy of putting the members first is the right one, especially in the unprecedented circumstances faced last year”.  

It added that its savings balances lifted by just under £20m, more than it saw in the whole of 2020.

The mutual said its savings members totalled 77,851 in the period, from 77,047 at the end of last year.