UK's Shawbrook loan book grows 15%, signals mid-to-high teens profit rise

(Reuters) -British lender Shawbrook reported 14.6% growth in its loan book in the first nine months of 2025 and forecast medium-term profit to rise in the mid-to-high teens, in its first trading update since its initial public offering last month.

The Essex-based bank, owned by private equity firms Pollen Street and BC Partners, had the largest IPO by a UK-based firm in London in two years.

In its IPO prospectus, Shawbrook said it had completed 24 acquisitions since 2011 and last month said it would use some of the proceeds from the listing to fund additional deals.

On Thursday, it reported that its loan book expanded to 18.25 billion pounds ($24.49 billion) in the nine months to September 30, helped partly by its takeover of fellow lender ThinCats.

"We enter the final quarter of 2025 with strong momentum," said CEO Marcelino Castrillo, noting that the bank planned to pay its first dividend next year.

Shawbrook said it was reviewing its exposure to historical regulated motor-finance lending, but that any potential compensation costs would be immaterial.

The bank's common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio - a key measure of financial strength - stood at 12.6% as of September 30, compared with 13% at the end of 2024.

Shawbrook said it expected its loan book to grow by low double digits annually over the medium term, while targeting a CET1 ratio of 12% to 13% over the same period.

($1 = 0.7451 pounds)

(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Kate Mayberry)