This is up from £230.2m lent out in the same period of 2024.

As a result, Paragon’s SME lending loan book has risen 9.4% to £853.1m during this time.

Asset finance, which comprises the largest part of the division’s business, reported an 11.1% increase to £169.9m, higher than the market average of 6.4%.

Paragon also began to offer its first loans under the government’s Growth Guarantee Scheme during this period, with £18.3m of loans written under the scheme.

•   The Finance Professional Show 2024: The Video
•   Paragon grows support teams to speed up SME lending decisions
•   Paragon agrees £100m ENABLE Guarantee from British Business Bank

“Despite a difficult environment for SMEs, with increased costs and the disruption of global events, they continue to show ambition and resilience, and we were pleased to record an increase in lending, particularly within asset finance,” said John Phillipou, managing director of SME lending at Paragon Bank (pictured above).
 
“Additionally, our broker portal continues to drive improved performance, with more applications going through the system, plus conversion and approval rates increasing.

“We have commenced the replatforming of our back-end system, which will drive further efficiencies and improved customer experience.”

Overall, Paragon reported a 5.2% growth in pre-provision profits and a 2.1% increase in underlying profits, the latter rising to £149.4m.

The loan book rose 4.9% to £16bn, with lending up 11.4% to £1.38bn, including loan growth in the development finance and BTL mortgages business lines.