Together has announced the upsizing of its Charles Street securitisation programme by £325m.

This brings the total facility to £1bn, with the maturity extended to 2021.

The specialist lender said its increased funding “reaffirms the financial strength of the business and the continuation of Together’s ambitious growth strategy across both its retail and commercial divisions”.

The investment grade programme Charles Street Conduit Asset Backed Securitisation 1 Limited has been in place since 2007, supported by RBS, Lloyds Bank, Natixis and HSBC, with Barclays also now joining the programme and committing £100m in this new transaction.

The Charles Street securitisation programme, rated Aa2 by Moody’s and AA by DBRS, sits alongside Together’s £255m Lakeside securitisation, which was introduced last year, and also the group’s capital markets bond issuance of £300m.

Gary Beckett, Together’s chief financial officer, said: “The upsizing of our Charles Street securitisation marks a major milestone in bringing the programme to £1bn, which will enable us to meet the increasing demand for finance across our markets. Along with enhanced terms and an extension of maturity by an additional two years to 2021, the revolving programme provides a long term flexible facility to support our strategic growth plans.

“In addition to our continued diversification of funding, we continue our substantial investment in strengthening our leadership team, developing our IT infrastructure and extending our distribution channels, together creating a solid platform for profitable and sustainable growth.”

In the 12 months to December 2015, Together’s annual new lending stood at £878m, with strong demand across all Together’s products, including short-term finance, which increased by 65% in 2015. As at December 2015 loan balances exceeded £1.6bn.