Skipton Group, which includes Skipton Building Society, Connells – our property group (and the UK’s largest estate agency) – and other group businesses, today presents its full year results for 2024.
The Group delivered a strong financial performance, with Skipton reporting record levels of first-time buyer (FTB) support – accounting for 44% of all its new lending – and continued leadership in tackling housing affordability. Alongside this investment, Skipton gave £197m in value back to members, up from £148m in 2023.
Stuart Haire, Skipton Group Chief Executive, said:
“I’m deeply proud of Skipton’s performance—not just because of our continued strong financial results, but because of the impact we are making where it matters most. Breaking down barriers to help more first-time buyers get their own home was and remains a core focus for us. We will keep leading with purpose to drive real change, making homeownership more possible for many more people.
“2024 saw us deliver a record amount of support to our members. We increased our efforts to help our members get access to the advice they need to make their money work harder for them and gave just under £200m in value back to our savers through above market savings rates. With housing and financial stability essential for both personal wellbeing and the nation’s growth, we’re uniquely placed to harness our Group capabilities to drive transformative change.”
Delivery of strategic priorities
- Helping More People Have a Home: Group mortgage balances growth of 8.2% to £30.9bn; 44% of new lending to FTBs (2023: 40%); £31.7bn (2023: £30.9bn) of lending generated by Connells Group for UK mortgage providers; increasing its market share to over 10% with Connells Group handling about one in ten of all UK home purchases and sales.
- Making Money Work Harder: Society savings balances growth of 8.9% to £28.3bn; 39,216 advice conversations held, with funds under management of £4.7bn (2023: £4.3bn); over 1m savers and investors (2023: 985k); Skipton paid 0.74%(2023: 0.65%) above the market average to savers
- Making Membership Matter: Society membership growth of 3.0% to over 1.27 million; £197m value returned to members (2023: £148m).
Financial highlights:
- Group profit before tax of £318.6m (2023: £333.4m) – maintaining financial strength while investing in things that matter most to members.
- Connells Group delivered a significant increase in profits of £61.3m (2023: £13.8m) and grew total revenue by 12% to £1,069m (2023: £951m)
- Group net interest margin of 1.28% (2023: 1.53%), driven by £377m more in interest payments year-on-year.
- Group UK residential mortgages in arrears by three months or more were only 0.29% of mortgage accounts at the end of 2024, well below the industry average of 0.91%;
- A strong capital position – Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) and leverage ratios of 28.7% and 6.6% (2023: 26.0% and 6.7%) respectively.
Championing Home Affordability for First-Time Buyers
In July, Skipton invested in launching its first Home Affordability Index, partnering with Oxford Economics in leveraging its Group data to measure the affordability of buying a property in Great Britain and also the affordability of running one too. Moving beyond the narrow examination of house prices, income and rent, Skipton’s unique Home Affordability Index goes much deeper into understanding the full reality of housing affordability. The findings were stark: only 1 in 8 first-time buyers can afford a home in their local area, and 80% lack sufficient savings for a deposit. It is only through understanding the true affordability conditions for different people and their circumstances across the country that we can work to tackle the problem and drive transformative change – which is what makes Skipton’s Index so unique from others.
This first Index laid bare the scale of the challenge facing first-time buyers, and Skipton released its second Home Affordability Index on 19 February. In response Skipton has reaffirmed its commitment to continually push itself to find more ways to help FTBs onto the property ladder – be it via its 100% mortgage, Track Record, or through its Income Booster product.
Looking into 2025, Skipton will be sharing its Home Affordability Index findings with Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Matthew Pennycook – standing ready to inform and contribute to the wider conversations around how to start improving access to the housing market for FTBs.
Driving Innovation in Home Buying and Selling
Beyond affordability, in 2024 Skipton also began exploring how it could tackle inefficiencies in the home-buying process. With approximately one-third of UK house sales falling through before completion, the Group invested in leveraging digital solutions to streamline transactions. Through the Connells Group’s partnership and part ownership of Legal Marketing Services Ltd (LMS) (the UK’s leading provider of conveyancing services), the Group successfully piloted and deployed a market first solution for streamlining and automating the proof of funds element of the transaction.
Making Money Work Harder
Skipton continued its commitment to provide access to free financial education and advice for members. As the UK advice gap continues to widen Skipton, unlike many competitors, continued to offer access to its regulated financial advice for those with a minimum of £20,000 to invest. Recognising that support and advice below that amount is crucial for many members, Skipton also launched a free My Money Review service, offering free accessible advice to all members, regardless of how much they have to invest. This advice has positively shaped the decisions that members have made. Over half of members who used the My Money Review service reassessed their financial planning, choosing options that are better suited to their needs, helping their money work harder.
Robust performance across the Group
2024 saw Skipton continue to explore opportunities to deliver real value for members and customers. The individual businesses within the Group demonstrated their strength and resilience:
- Connells: delivered a significant increase in annual profits during 2024, providing £20m of dividends to the Society, reflecting an improving UK housing market, and increased demand for lettings and rentals. The business grew its stock of houses offered for sale by 33%, and increased its market share during the year, to 10.2%. The land and new homes division remains the leading agent in new homes sales.
- Skipton Building Society: Despite net interest margin pressures, the Society performed well delivering PBT of £209.9m (2023: £283.7m).
- Skipton International Ltd (SIL): generated £31.0m of pre-tax profits in the year and invested significantly in enhancing its systems.
- Skipton Business Finance (SBF): achieved record profit in excess of £10m in 2024. Monies advanced to clients also reached record levels of over £190m
- Jade: continued to grow, increasing its profitability by 8% to £1.4m.
Looking ahead
By harnessing the collective strength of the Group and unlocking the power of its data, Skipton will create more opportunities for members—to secure a home, save for the future, and build lasting financial stability. With more people struggling to buy or move home and one in three people have no savings, Skipton’s role has never been more critical. It remains committed to driving change and helping build a stronger, more resilient society for the future.
To view the full Financial Release & Market update click here.
