The Brightstar Group posted record turnover up 21% last year, but warned that it was cautious about 2023, adding that “overall lending will fall”.  

The business, which includes Brightstar Financial and Sirius Property Finance, reported its highest ever annual sales of £12.6m in 2022, “during a particularly challenging period for the market”.  

The group says lending across its businesses jumped 25% to £1.52bn, while headcount lifted by 5.5%, compared to a year ago.  

But the firm says it “has a more cautious outlook for growth amid a more challenging market” this year.  

Brightstar Group chief executive Rob Jupp says: “Our continued focus on delivering the best possible service to our partners and clients will become even more important in the year ahead, with expectations that overall lending will fall.   

“Against this backdrop, we are more cautious about our growth forecasts in 2023, but we remain confident that our stand-out proposition will continue to win market share and we still expect to grow our lending and our turnover despite the challenging outlook for the next 12 months.”  

The business says it expects to grow lending to £1.78bn in 2023 and boost turnover by 6.2% compared to the previous year.