Hinckley & Rugby Building Society has posted reduced profit for 2010 but ended the year with a pipeline of mortgage business more than seven times as large as a year before.

Pre-tax profit at the mutual was £226,000 for 2010, down from £270,000 in 2009.

However, Leicestershire’s largest building society said mortgage lending picked up in the second half of 2010, starting 2011 with a pipeline of mortgage business worth £15 million, compared to £2 million at the start of 2010.

Chief executive Chris White said: “Our results reflect Hinckley & Rugby’s core values of prime residential lending funded predominantly from retail savings – all backed by a commitment to excellent service.””