Paragon’s Mortgages division revealed another year of strong growth in new lending, reporting an 8% increase in underlying profit before tax to £157m for the 12 months ended 30 September 2018.

New mortgage lending at Paragon grew by 11% to £1.6bn in total, with Paragon’s traditional buy-to-let lending up by £96m to almost £1.5bn.

As expected, BTL completions were dominated by complex business, which includes mortgages for portfolio landlords, finance for HMOs and landlords operating within limited company structures, and this sector increased to 79% of advances.

Paragon ended the year with a strong BTL pipeline, up 29% to £779m, and it has recently extended its BTL product range to include mortgages for expat landlords looking to finance rental property in the UK and for UK holiday lets.

John Heron, managing director of mortgages, said: “The most recent regulatory changes in the BTL market require lenders to collect and analyse more information about the landlord’s property portfolio and, as a result, some lenders have restricted their BTL proposition. However, Paragon’s expertise in complex underwriting is well aligned with these developments, positioning us well to benefit from the changes and increase our market share.”