Suffolk Building Society has passed £800m of mortgage assets for the first time after reporting a sharp rise in lending volumes and completions in the year to 30 November 2025.
The mutual said its mortgage book increased by 10% to £813m, up from £738m a year earlier, while mortgage advances rose from £122m to £220m.
The number of mortgage completions climbed 67% to 857, with the average loan size increasing to £259,000 from £241,000.
Suffolk said the growth reflected continued demand for its manually underwritten proposition and its focus on more specialist areas of lending. Pre-tax profit came in at £1.4m, in line with forecast, compared with £2.2m in 2024.
The society said the lower figure was driven by interest rate hedging losses in a volatile market, which it expects to reverse over the life of the mortgages being hedged.
Retail savings also grew by 10% over the year to reach £899m, while regulatory capital increased to £47m from £45m.
MORTGAGE PROPOSITION EXPANDS
During the year, the society introduced criteria changes across first-time buyer, intergenerational, later life and expat lending as it looked to strengthen its position in niche segments.
Among the changes were a rise to 90% loan to value for joint borrower sole proprietor cases and 90% loan to value on new-build flats. Suffolk also said its rental track record approach allows some borrowers to access up to 5.49 times income where they can show a history of rental payments.
The society said intergenerational lending was particularly popular in 2025. It also removed its minimum £20,000 income limit for later life borrowers and increased expat residential loan to value to 90%, alongside easing visa-related criteria for some non-UK national applicants.
Richard Norrington, chief executive at Suffolk Building Society, said: “Reaching £800m of mortgage assets is an important milestone in our ambitious plans to grow efficiently and sustainably, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams across the Society.
“As borrowers’ needs become ever more complex, feedback from our intermediary partners continues to guide our specialist offering and will play a key role in our lending strategy going forward.”
Norrington added: “2025 was a year of celebration, led by our 175th anniversary and the opening of our new Felixstowe branch – both strong reminders of our history, our community role, and our future focus.
“Following an award-winning year that saw us meet our financial goals, the Society is well-positioned for sustainable growth in the year ahead. We have a strong mortgage pipeline, excellent intermediary relationships, ten high street branches, and solid savings and mortgage offerings.”
