Enra Specialist Finance, the parent company of specialist lender West One Loans and specialist finance broker Aria Finance, has reported record trading results in 2023 despite the higher interest rate environment.

The Watford-based firm grew assets under management by 20% to £2.1bn at the end of last year.

West One delivered record months of origination across bridging, development finance, buy-to-let and its newly launched range of residential mortgages throughout 2023. Last year was also a record year for originations overall for West One’s short-term lending divisions, bridging and development finance.

A year on since the merger of Enra’s two broking brands, Enterprise Finance and Vantage Finance, Aria Finance is continuing to expand through new hires.

Emily Gestetner, Enra CFO, said: “2023 has been very successful for our firm. Despite a backdrop of rising interest rates and ensuing market volatility, the Enra team has delivered a phenomenal set of results.

“Our audited results will be published in early Q2, but I fully expect to deliver another Enra record performance exceeding, the previous year’s EBITDA of £39m. All our lending lines are up on year on year, with a particularly impressive performance from our short-term lending divisions and record levels of profit from our buy-to-let business. Our loan book continues to grow, and credit quality remains outstanding against a backdrop of a generational shift in the cost-of-living.

“Enra is extremely well-positioned for further growth in 2024 with a strong balance sheet, excellent cash-generation capability, and plenty of funding to fuel further lending. Whilst the future is always unpredictable I’m very confident in the Enra team’s ability to remain focused, flexible, and determined to manufacture success in any situation.”