The listed specialist lender says average monthly lending was up 21.9% on the previous quarter at £179m, with originations in September rising above levels prior to the health crisis to £202m.

Its loan book lifted by 5.4% to end the 30 September first quarter period to £4.2bn.

During its first three months of the year, the Cheadle-based firm said it continued to work on a customer service portal, with end-to-end registration, account overview screen, document repository and full account servicing.

It also improved its website and introduced paperless direct debit payments in September.

Together group chief executive designate Gerald Grimes says: “In parallel, we have further increased the diversity, liquidity and maturity of our funding, raising or refinancing over £1.4bn since June 2021.

“Most recently, we refinanced the senior PIK [payment-in-kind] toggle notes and issued an additional £120 million of our 2026 bonds, in a transaction that was upsized by £20m, underlying the quality of our loan book and the strong levels of investor support for Together.”

He adds: “Following a strong recovery over the summer, UK economic growth slowed during the quarter to 30 September as Covid-19 support schemes were withdrawn, although the outlook remains broadly positive.

“While we have seen a spike in inflation and some commentators are forecasting that interest rates will rise from the current record lows, we are also seeing signs of a consumer recovery.”