Leeds Building Society has seen its pre-tax profit rose by 18% to a record £64.2m.

Its results for 2013 also saw new residential mortgage lending increase by 31% to £2.16bn.

Net residential lending for the year totalled £1bn, the mutual’s best ever performance.

Chief Executive Peter Hill said: “I am particularly pleased that in our core markets of savings and mortgages we increased our market shares significantly, and our membership numbers are at an all-time high.

“In addition to ‘mainstream’ home loans, we also developed the unique Welcome Mortgage, which is the only product of its kind, with an option to pay no interest for the first three or six months.

“We also lent in less well served mortgage markets including Shared Ownership, and higher Loan to Value loans, both within and outside the Government’s Help to Buy Equity Scheme. Including these mortgages, the average Loan to Value ratio on all new lending in 2013 remained below 60%.”