The Leeds Building Society has reported UK net lending of £1.0bn for 2018 and said it grew more than twice as quickly as the market.

Mortgage balances increased by 6% to £15.8bn, while total assets rose by 5% to £19.4bn.

The results come as its retiring CEO Peter Hill hands over to his successor, Richard Fearon.

The UK’s fifth largest building society said profit before tax totalled £116.9m compared to £120.9m a year earlier, lower primarily as a result of the one-off impact of the sale of its Irish mortgage book (£6.5m).

Fearon said: “Our robust 2018 caps off Peter’s successful tenure at the head of Leeds Building Society and I’m proud to take over from him as I look ahead to the future and the next stage of our development.

“Under Peter’s leadership the Society’s total assets and profits have more than doubled, giving us the platform to keep growing sustainably and focusing on what matters to our members, as we carry on striving to offer them security and value.

“Building societies, including our own, have been around a long time but have always embraced innovation and we’ll continue to adapt as the pace of change in modern financial services moves ever faster.

“Investment during 2019 will be the highest in our history so we can carry on helping more members save and have the home they want, while increasing our digital capability and moving forward with pace and focus to meet and surpass their expectations.

“This is possible thanks to the fact we’re financially stronger than we’ve ever been, because of our sustained and carefully-managed growth, supported by record profits in recent years.”