Through the 12-month period up to 31 December, Fleet’s mortgage origination figures of £1.237bn represented a 58% increase on the previous year’s figure of £782m.
Fleet says its lending activity was strong throughout 2022 with its busiest completion months taking place between August and November.
Last year was the first full year of lending under Fleet’s owners, Starling Bank, with all funding coming via the digital bank.
The average loan amount over the course of the entire year was just short of £215,000.
The lender also reported that employee numbers increased from 112 at the start of the year to 170 at the end of December.
Meanwhile, the lender reported that last year’s arrear numbers totalled 11, up from the seven reported in 2021.
Fleet’s 2022 lending mix continued to evolve through the year, with rising interest rates constraining affordability during the last quarter.
The lender says this resulted in strong demand for tracker-rate products, but it anticipates lower interest rates in the future and, as a result, increased demand for five-year fixes to return later in the year.
It also reported that the proportion of mortgage applications received for buying investment properties increased during the second half of last year, with significant demand coming from portfolio landlords buying investment properties through SPV limited companies, particularly in areas outside Greater London.
At the start of the year, 50% of Fleet’s mortgage applications came from this source, however, this had increased to two-thirds of applications received during the last quarter of 2022.
Fleet Mortgages chief commercial officer Steve Cox says: “2022 was undoubtedly a rollercoaster year for the entire mortgage market so we are very pleased to be able to announce a significant increase in our lending completions.”
“At the same time, we have also added some considerable resource to the business, bringing in excellent people to our Fleet head office, as well as the opening of our satellite office in Cardiff.”
“The support we have received from Starling remains top-class and it allows us to enter the new year full of ambition to continue lending to a part of the market we believe will continue to thrive, namely professional and portfolio landlords who are invested in the private rental sector for the long term.”
“It’s been positive to see pricing coming off its most recent highs, and we fully anticipate this trend will continue into the year ahead, offering advisers and their landlord clients access to competitive rates and products which will allow them to maintain their profitability and hopefully add to their portfolios.”
