Shares in buy-to-let mortgage specialist OSB Group PLC (LSE:OSB) rose 7% after it said demand for loans ticked higher in its latest three months.
Applications for commercial mortgages, bridging finance and asset finance all rose in the third quarter with the bank now expecting underlying net loan book growth of slightly under 3% for 2024.
That is an acceleration from the first nine months of 2024, where the loan book rose by 2% to £26.3 billion, with net margins also steady.
“Underlying net interest margin guidance is unchanged at 230bps–240bps for 2024 as higher-yielding mortgages in the back book roll off to current prevailing spreads and as the market observes slightly elevated fixed term retail deposit pricing,” it added.
Buy-to-let landlords saw stamp duty on second homes increased in the Budget and Andy Goulding, OSB’s chief executive, said the bank was monitoring the impact on professional landlords.
Otherwise, he said there were “Signs of a gradual return of confidence in our core markets and we are seeing increased applications in our more cyclical businesses”.
Shares rose 7% to 371.4p.