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Motor finance and property bridging specialist S&U said its Advantage car finance business continued to trade well amid healthy demand despite the downturn in the new car market.
In an update for the period from 23 May to 31 July, it said that trading levels were 'in line' with expectations and anticipated the used car market would remain robust, even in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
It said new transactions were ahead of last year's levels and reported a 7% year-on-year increase in customer numbers to 62,000.
Further, despite subdued housing market activity, the firm said that valuations remained steady with continued profitable growth at its Aspen property bridging arm, albeit at a slightly slower-than-expected pace.
Net amounts receivable at the half year stood at over £24m, up from 2018's £16.3m.
The company said that recent improvements to Aspen's loan products, a wider product range and closer alignment of its IT platform with its large introducers were expected to help continue increasing its bridging receivables during the second half.
'Trading in the first half of the year reflects continued and consistent growth in profitability which has been the S&U hallmark over the past 10 years. Transaction volumes and quality improvement, particularly in our motor finance business, are expected to be reflected in the pace of profits growth over the full year,' said chairman Anthony Coombs.
The company would announce half-year results on 24 September.
At 9:58am: (LON:SUS) S U PLC share price was +20p at 2120p