OakNorth reached £900m of business lending in H1 2023

Despite the economic downturn, OakNorth Bank completed £886m worth of new lending in the first half of 2023.

The new originations take OakNorth’s total lending to date to over £9.7bn, up from the £8.5bn it had reached by the end of 2022, and on track to surpass the £1.6bn that the bank lent last year.

“With the current cost-of-living crisis set to continue well into next year, we want to reassure businesses that we’re here to support them whether they need debt for growth, M&A, a management buy-out or buy-in, working capital or anything else,” said OakNorth Bank’s head of debt finance Ben Barbanel.

“The UK’s Missing Middle continues to be the backbone of our economy so powering their growth ambitions is essential for enabling the country to overcome the current economic challenges.”

Barbanel says OakNorth continues to lend to these businesses at a time when high street banks are reining in their small business lending activity.

OakNorth’s loan book on the other hand grew rapidly with new credit lines including a £37m facility to a Somerset-headquartered independent self-storage provider to support a management buyout, and a £62m credit facility in partnership with property lender ASK for the development of 133 apartments in a new Canary Wharf tower.

Last year OakNorth had outstanding loan facilities of £4.6bn which helped the bank turn a £152.3m pre-tax profit.