Report shows changing times at Kensington

Despite more than £26 million in profit recorded before tax, a statutory loss of £10.1 million was recorded after charges of £36.2 million, which the lender put down on the firm’s relocation and a loss on the sale of TML, among other factors.

register for the next forum

The lender also reported that its new business completions fell by 3 per cent in comparison to 2006, while its mortgage assets were down 7 per cent in comparison with the end of the last financial year but 2 per cent up on the same date last year.

Over a £1 billion of loans had been sold so far this year – more than double what was sold at this point in 2006, Kensington reported.

catch up on the industry buzz

Alison Hutchinson, chief executive of Kensington Group and managing director of Kensington Mortgages, said: “We are pleased with the rapid progress and the results achieved so far as we transform the business to compete more effectively and we expect this pace of change to continue. We have taken decisive action to cut costs, streamline our operational processes, and refocus the business where returns are attractive.”

download our news ticker

Paul White, consultant at Belgravia, commented: “Kensington has recently moved into the prime market so there is some blurring between them and more mainstream lenders. The takeover by Investec is positive as borrowers are concerned about who their mortgage is with, but as long as it doesn’t change the terms of the mortgage this should be positive.”