Announcing the results, chief executive John Carrier also gave a message about contemporary Britain’s debt culture.
Outlining the Scarborough Group’s performance for the 2005/6 financial year, Carrier said that record asset growth and increases in mortgage and savings balances were a direct result of a ‘can do’ business approach where change and adaptation were the norm.
But he added that such a flexible approach would be even more essential in future to enable the Society, and the financial services sector as a whole, to cater for rapidly changing socio-economic factors leading to higher levels of debt – particularly among young people.
Carrier commented: "Our strategy of targeted investment in the development of new systems and infrastructure, to enhance our client and customer service offering, has contributed to our achievement of an 8 per cent increase in our Group assets to a record £1.73 billion, a 10 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £5.6 million – and a 15 per cent uplift in savings balances, taking these to a record £1.22 billion."
However, Carrier added: "In modern Britain, increasing levels of personal debt are frequently being taken for granted. Young people are borrowing an average of £20,000 to fund higher education costs before they even start work, and continuing house value increases are making home ownership a real difficulty for many people.
"That means traditional mortgage products will need to be adapted by more and more mainstream lenders in the future.
"Providers like ourselves are going to have to be able to offer ‘out of the box’ solutions to enable people to get a footing on the first or second rung of the property ladder – either for first-time buyers or for those who are rebuilding their credit history after suffering financial difficulties in the past.
"I am delighted to announce another year of strong performance during which we have started to offer new kinds of financial solutions, such as a new range of credit repair mortgages and competitive buy-to-let products to suit the needs of every kind of landlord.
"Our mortgage product range will continue to evolve in the future as we respond to cater for every kind of modern customer."
Highlights of Scarborough’s annual results are:-
Group pre-tax profit up 10 per cent, to £5.6 million
Society management expenses ratio reduced again, to 0.62 per cent
Group mortgage balances up 7 per cent, to £1.35 billion
Group assets increased by 8 per cent, to a record £1.73 billion
Group savings balances up 15 per cent, to a record £1.22 billion.
