OSB Group posted buy-to-let/small business loan originations down by 8% to £996.8m in the first six months of the year, “against a backdrop of subdued mortgage market volumes”.

However, its BTL/small business loan book rose 3% to £12.5bn in the first half from a year ago, the lender said in a stock market statement.

The listed group owns a range of brands including, OneSavings Bank, Kent Reliance and Charter Court Financial Services.

It said: “In the first half, as activity in the market remained subdued and competition in our core sub-segments increased, particularly in the second quarter, we retained our disciplined approach to pricing new business, prioritising returns.

“We chose not to follow as some lenders reduced their new business spreads in certain sub-segments. We continued to lend to professional, multi-property landlords at good margins.”

Overall, its statutory pre-tax profit more than tripled to £241.3m, primarily due to non-recurring effective interest rate adjustments it accounted for last year.

During the period the group completed a £509m securitisation of BTL mortgages in February and a £330m securitisation of owner-occupied mortgages in May.

OSB chief executive Andy Golding said: “We have seen an improvement in the macroeconomic outlook recently which supports our cautious re-entry into more cyclical, higher margin sub-segments, which will contribute to returns in the medium term.

“We are now past peak interest rates, which will also provide a much-needed stimulus to the mortgage market.

“Based on current market activity and our disciplined approach to lending and retention, the group now expects to deliver underlying net loan book growth of around 3% for 2024.”

OSB Group shares fell 18% to 395.8p in mid-morning trading.