Nationwide Building Society has doubled its lending to first time buyers in the first six months of this financial year to September 2012.

The Society has lent £2.5 billion to 20,000 first time buyers, doubling the amount it lent in the same period last year and almost matching the amount it lent to 24,000 first time buyers in the whole of the previous financial year (2011/12).

30% of all the Society’s lending in the first six months of this financial year (excluding further advances) was to first time buyers.

However, the largest building society’s pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of September was £124 million, down from £238 million a year earlier.

Nationwide has also set aside a further £45 million to cover PPI claims.