News

Strong results momentum despite Covid-19 challenges, and significant operational progress underpin future profitable growth

Belmont Green Finance Limited trading as Vida Homeloans (“BGFL”, “Belmont Green”, “Vida Homeloans” or “the Group”) publishes its Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2020, which is available at www.belmontgreen.co.uk.

Highlights

Strong results momentum

• Core loss before tax, after excluding exceptional items, was £5.8 million, compared with £13.3 million in 2019 and £17.8 million in 2018.  The Group remains on track to deliver its first year of profit for the year ending 31 December 2021, as planned
• Net interest income increased to £23.9 million (2019: 2.5 million)
• Net interest margin improved by 29 basis points to 1.44%, due to higher mortgage yields and lower weighted average cost of funds (successfully completed a £350 million securitisation deal in July 2020, the fifth issuance in the Group’s Tower Bridge Funding Programme and one of the first deals in Europe to complete post Covid-19)
• Average lending grew by 19%
• Gross loans to customers were £1.642 billion as at 31 December 2020
• Administrative expenses reduced by £3.3 million to £28.0 million following management initiatives to improve operational efficiency during the year
• Impairment provisions were raised to £3.4 million (FY19: £2.4 million) to reflect increased macroeconomic risk

Significant operational progress

• New highly experienced leadership team now in place including Anth Mooney, Chief Executive Officer, John Rowan, Chief Financial Officer and Stephen Roughton-Smith, Chief Risk Officer
• Efficiency programme delivered £3.1 million of annualised savings
• Technology investment programme, delivering a new digital mortgage retention capability in 2021 for customers and intermediary partners
• New Treasury Management and Asset & Liability Management platform implemented providing the Group with bank grade control and risk management functionality
• Improved mortgage application process introduced to significantly enhance customer experience and operational performance

Anth Mooney, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“2020 was a year in which, despite Covid-19, we delivered strong results momentum towards our 2021 objective of breakeven. The appointment of a new, highly experienced leadership team, has allowed us to quickly turn the business around, demonstrate significant operational progress and chart a clear strategic course. To capitalise on this renewed momentum and realise our long-term growth ambitions, we intend to work towards authorisation as a bank by the PRA.  This will significantly improve our resilience and durability as an organisation, diversifying our sources of funding, reducing our reliance on wholesale markets and laying the foundations for a scale specialist mortgage bank.

Considering our starting point and everything that has been thrown at us during 2020, the determination of our people to help their customers when they most needed us has never faltered.  Going forward, the new team will continue to keep those customer values at our heart.  This, together with our investments in systems and people, and significantly improved service capability, will help us achieve break-even profitability for the first time this year, and I am pleased to report that we are well on track to deliver this important milestone.”