Skipton Building Society has reported a record 129% increase in profit before tax to £271.8m in 2021, up from £118.8m.
The mutual - which operates 100 branches across the UK - saw its membership increase to 1,082,997 and made gains in its savings and mortgage businesses.
Skipton said its property services company, Connells, had achieved record mortgage completions of £5.4bn, including record completions for first time buyers.
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The performance meant Skipton achieved a mortgage portfolio of more than £23bn and lending that accounts for 2% of the growth in the UK residential mortgage market.
Noting that the housing market would likely moderate in 2022, Skipton vowed to do more to help first time buyers get on to the property ladder, saying it remained difficult for those wanting to buy their first home.
During the year Connells also completed the acquisition of Countrywide plc to the create the UK's largest estate agency, which delivered dividends of £60m to the society.
Savings balances at the society grew by £1bn to £19.8bn and it said that despite the prevailing low interest rate environment, it paid an average savings rate of 0.65% - 0.37% above the market average.
Skipton Business Finance - the society's provider of debt factoring and invoice discounting to small and medium-sized enterprises - achieved profit before tax of £5.4m, up from £3.6m.
David Cutter, Skipton Group chief executive, said: "It's incredibly pleasing to report these record profits. Today's results are testament to the strength of the Skipton Group business model, high colleague engagement, a strong culture, and our ability to move at pace in spotting and seizing opportunities for the benefit of our customers and our purpose-driven organisation. Coupled with this has been growing economic confidence, together with an incredibly hot housing market during late 2020 into 2021.
"Today's results present a significant improvement from 12 months ago, when despite reporting good profits, our results were a clear indication of the challenging times the UK faced in the midst of a global pandemic. As a building society, our consistency in always making decisions based on the long-term best interests of the business and our members, not shareholders, has seen us successfully prepare for and navigate those challenges. And it's exciting that we can utilise these profits to invest in activities that align to our ambitions and further strengthen experiences for both customers and our colleagues.
"2021 was a remarkable year for Skipton as all of our people continued to support our customers at the moments that matter, regardless of what the ongoing pandemic threw at everyone. And while the UK adjusts to a post-pandemic future, with new social norms and consumer behaviours, our purpose remains the same - helping people have a home, save for their life ahead, and supporting their long-term financial wellbeing."
