The news was revealed with the publication of its latest annual report, with the specialist bank also announcing plans to lend a further £1bn to UK businesses this year.

During 2017, OakNorth profitably tripled the value of its loan book to £1bn and became the first bank to complete a loan under the British Business Bank's help to grow programme.

It also received full authorisation from the Bank of England to join the term funding scheme.

Last year also saw the commercialisation of OakNorth's new fintech platform ACORN machine, which uses machine learning and technology to fuel data-driven decision making.

Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth (pictured above), said: “It has been another exceptional year for OakNorth; we have solidified our position in the SME lending market, providing over £1bn of gross lending in the UK, helping hundreds of businesses achieve their growth ambitions.

“Despite the exceptional growth of our loan book, we have ensured that the quality of credit has not been jeopardised, as evidenced by the fact that we've not had a single default to date.

“The next 12 months will present some unique challenges for UK businesses as the Brexit deadline approaches and the nation prepares to finally leave the EU.

“While some lenders will use this as an excuse to slow down decision making even further and put SME lending on the back burner, we plan to continue building on our loan book and lending at least another £1bn this year.”