British bank Virgin Money Holdings said its gross mortgage lending jumped 34% in the first quarter, winning a 3.6% share in the UK mortgage market.
The Newcastle-based lender said it had started the second quarter with a strong mortgage pipeline, and that it continued to expect to achieve a net interest margin of up to 160 basis points for 2015.
Gross mortgage lending rose to £1.6 billion, while net mortgage lending increased 82% during the three months from January March to £664m.
Virgin Money's gross mortgage lending share is based on Bank of England data for January and February 2015 and the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimate for March 2015.
Virgin Money is looking to challenge Britain's biggest lenders - Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC - which control 77% of the UK personal current account market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority.
The bank's closest rival TSB Banking Group, which was carved out of Lloyds Bank, agreed to a $2.5 billion takeover offer by Spain's Banco de Sabadell in March.
Virgin Money shares, which were priced at 283 pence each at the time of its listing last November, have risen 39% in value.
