The building society accelerated lending for a fourth consecutive year and beat 2008 figures by £32.4m in a bid to capitalise on favourable market conditions.

In total, it completed 1,158 new mortgages and saw its mortgage balance increase by 16%.

Chairman Ian O’Reilly said: “In the first half of 2012, several large retail banks withdrew from the mortgage market, thus allowing more nimble mortgage providers like The Cambridge to seize the opportunity to satisfy the shortfall in housing finance.

“This not only provided a boost to the Society’s income in 2012, but will also help sustain future profitability.”

The building society, which took in a pre-tax profit of £0.9m, saw 39 of 8,290 mortgage accounts in arrears, 7 of which were more than 12 months in arrears. Balances outstanding from accounts in arrears made up 0.04% of the overall mortgage balance.

Directors of the society enjoyed a 42% increase in remuneration since 2011, reaping a total of £689,585 in salaries and other benefits. Main drivers for the increase included the recruitment of a commercial director and the introduction of performance-related pay.

The results also revealed mortgage loans to three directors and connected persons totalling £589,330.