Paragon doubles buy-to-let lending

In its annual results the lender reported group underlying profits were up 10.2% to £134.7m while its pipeline business had risen 72.1% on the previous year to reach £713.7m.

John Heron, director of mortgages at Paragon, said: “Access to retail markets through Paragon Bank has provided the group with a material diversification of funding.

“This has helped facilitate a step change in buy-to-let lending driven by a significant broadening of our product range and a more consistently competitive position for both large-scale professional landlords and smaller-scale property investors.

“It has been a fantastic year for the group overall and with our acquisition of Five Arrows Leasing through Paragon Bank, there will be more exciting opportunities to come.”