Edinburgh and Newcastle-based challenger bank Virgin Money said its gross mortgage lending rose 19% on the first nine months of 2015 to £6.5 billion, giving it a 3.6% market share of UK gross mortgage lending.

Virgin Money said its credit card balances increased to £2.2 billion at the end of September 2016 — 41% higher than for the full year of 2015.

Virgin Money CEO Jayne-Anne Gadhia said: “We delivered a record start to the year for mortgages and we have maintained that momentum following the outcome of the EU referendum.

“Our savings franchise is thriving and our credit card business continues to go from strength to strength.

“We remain on track to meet our target of £3 billion of high-quality card balances by the end of 2017.”

She added: “We have been encouraged by the relative strength of the UK economy immediately following the EU referendum result although we continue to look forward with caution.

“We are well placed to manage potential economic headwinds and remain confident of achieving a solid double-digit return on tangible equity for 2017.”