Yorkshire Building Society 'to double number of mortgage advances'

The company, which is currently acquiring Chelsea Building Society, stated that its lending had fallen in line with the rest of the market due to the economic downturn.

Its overall gross mortgage lending fell in 2009 to £900 million, which was down from £2.5 billion in 2008, which the institution has put down to a more cautious approach to lending on its part.

Once the building society has acquired Chelsea Building Society, it plans on increasing its lending by around £1 billion, which may well be a welcome boost to those who are looking to get their foot on the property ladder.

So far in 2010 the market has experienced a seasonal downturn, which has also been influenced by the rush to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday on January 1st, the British Bankers' Association has recently announced.