The Leeds Building Society has reported that its new residential mortgage lending increased by 22% to £1.45bn over the first half of the year.

Net residential lending totalled £668m, a record for the UK’s fifth largest building society.

The total charge for impairment losses reduced over the period to £5.5m.

As a consequence, pre-tax profit increased by 42% in the first half of 2015 to £55.0m.

The Leeds now holds assets of £12.7bn, the highest in its 140 year history.

Peter Hill (pictured), Leeds Building Society chief executive, said: “New residential lending was significantly above our market share, increasing by 22% to record levels, and we provided home loans to more borrowers than ever before.

“In the first half of 2015 we helped more than 4,500 first time buyers step on to the property ladder, accounting for 37.3% of our total lending, and we continue to be active in supporting borrowers who are not well-served by the wider market, through initiatives including shared ownership and the government’s Help to Buy equity scheme.

“We anticipate a modest increase in the size of the mortgage market for 2015 and expect competition for new business to intensify as established lenders and new entrants look to build market share.”