Cambridge & Counties Bank achieved its highest ever level of gross new lending in 2024, with £376m advanced to UK businesses, property professionals and entrepreneurs—marking a 15% year-on-year rise.
The Leicester-based specialist lender reported continued growth across its core divisions, with £285m in property finance drawdowns and £89m in asset finance, the latter representing a 39% increase and a record for the bank. Financing for classic, vintage and sports cars also surged by 41% to £72m.
Customer loan balances rose by 11% to £1.23bn while customer deposits climbed 10% to £1.27bn. Profit before tax stood at £35.8m, achieved amid a declining interest rate environment.
Donald Kerr, CEO at Cambridge & Counties Bank, said: “Over the past two years we have invested in our relationship management teams and new technology. 2024 saw the benefits of this investment in the form of increased new business volumes. We also continued to develop our product range with more fixed rate lending and new products such as development finance.
“The UK Government wants to stimulate growth: our SMEs and the UK property market are fundamental to this, and both are fully aligned with CCB’s own strategy and products. We play an important role in supporting a broad range of businesses and entrepreneurs, which are often overlooked by larger lenders, and, as such, we have a key role to play in supporting the UK at a critical time for the economy.”
The bank continued its expansion with new offices in Manchester and Reading and increased staff headcount by 8% to 243. It also progressed its digital transformation, including the optimisation of the nCino platform and the launch of a digital servicing application.
Rich Hanrahan, CFO at Cambridge & Counties Bank, said: “In 2024 we continued to invest in our customer journeys, including in our property business where we have optimised the nCino platform along with the launch of our digital servicing application. In asset finance, we streamlined processes for certain customers, significantly reducing the time taken to payout. 2025 will see us build greater flexibility into our technology stack allowing for faster, safer deployment and more innovation.”
The bank also maintained its focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility, following its B Corp certification in 2023. Its first impact assessment score was 92.8, well above the 50.9 median for businesses.
Patrick Newberry, chair of Cambridge & Counties Bank, said: “At the end of 2024, we successfully reached the end of one three-year planning cycle, exceeding our targets. Our next three-year plan is focused on continued growth and a sustainable and vibrant business which will remain attractive for our people and clients. Important elements are further diversification and the continuation of our technology enablement programme – which is already delivering a faster and better client experience – all to ensure we remain the specialist SME bank of choice in our chosen markets.”
