This is up from the £243.8m lent to developers in the same period in 2024.

The lender’s development finance loan book finished the period at £877.5m, up from £849.9m the year before.

Undrawn balances on projects in progress were 8.1% higher compared to the start of the financial year at £537.8m, with the new business pipeline up 44% compared to the previous year at £268.4m.

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This activity, along with growth in Paragon’s BTL business, contributed to a 5.2% increase in the group’s overall pre-provision profits and a 2.1% increase in underlying profits.

Here, the latter rose to £149.4m.

“Whilst the pressures facing SME housebuilders and developers continue, these ambitious companies are delivering the much-needed new homes the UK requires,” said Neal Moy, managing director of development finance for Paragon Bank (pictured above).
 
“Conditions remain challenging for developers, but as we enter a lower interest rate environment, supporting buyer affordability, and a more stable inflationary level, we are confident that more schemes will commence.”