In its unaudited interim results for the 12 months to 31st December 2017, the specialist bank revealed that underlying profit before tax was up 20% growing to £160m, compared with the £133m recorded in 2016.

Statutory profit before tax also increased to £141m, 10% higher than the £129m reported in 2016.

During 2017, Aldermore also saw a diversified portfolio with 17% growth in retail to £5.7bn and 9% increase in business finance to £2.9bn.

Phillip Monks, CEO at Aldermore (pictured above), said that the bank continued to support more customers across Britain, whether they were growing their business, buying a home or securing a competitive return on their savings.

“We have continued to focus on customers as individuals, going beyond the one-size-fits-all approach in carefully selected market segments, where we have real expertise and can offer superior levels of service, while also maintaining a robust approach to risk management.

“This approach has driven strong customer growth since we were founded in 2009, ultimately enabling us to record an underlying profit before tax of £160m in 2017, an increase of 20% compared with the prior year.”

Aldermore also saw deposits grow by 6% to £7.1bn during 2017, compared with £6.7bn in 2016, while the bank reported that 91% of its customers who reviewed it online would recommend it to family and friends.

Phillip added that Aldermore's recent success had attracted a takeover from South Africa's FirstRand Group, which has been completed.

“…We are excited to be working with our new parent company and exploring the opportunities to further accelerate the delivery of our strategy.

“Our vision of providing 'banking as it should be' will not change, but with the backing of FirstRand, our ambition will only grow, and we aim to further support businesses and individuals with enhanced digital services and a broader range of straightforward propositions.

“We look forward to 2018 and beyond with great confidence as the next chapter of the Aldermore story begins.”