OakNorth drives 33% increase in gross originations in 2025, with 40% of originations coming from the US, delivering £223M in pre-tax profits

Gross originations increased to £2.8bn (2024: £2.1bn)

London, UK, 17 March 2026; OakNorth – the leading digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs – today announces it made £223m ($289m[1],) of pre-tax profit in 2025, following record growth in the US.

A decade of empowering entrepreneurs

Over the past decade, OakNorth has provided more than £15.1bn (c.$20bn) of lending to the lower mid-market, empowering thousands of established entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, supporting over 70,000 jobs and generating more than £40bn (c.$52 billion) in economic value[2]. Throughout a decade marked by significant disruption in the UK and globally, OakNorth continued to back its customers while maintaining rigorous credit discipline, resulting in cumulative principal losses of just 0.045% over 10 years[3]. This strong performance has placed it among the top 1% of commercial banks globally[4] in terms of return on assets, with an efficiency ratio of 26%[5], and adj. ROE of 22%[6].

Continued momentum in 2025

OakNorth maintained its disciplined and sustainable growth in 2025 with total facilities increasing by 18% to £7.2bn ($9.3bn) – up from £6.1bn ($7.9bn) in 2024 – driven by a 33% increase in gross originations to £2.8bn ($3.7bn) from £2.1bn ($2.8bn) in 2024. Notably, 40% of gross originations came from the US – a market OakNorth only entered in 2023 following the regional commercial banking crisis – demonstrating how OakNorth’s model is resonating in one of the world’s largest and most competitive markets. 

Making significant investments while maintaining strong profits

Throughout 2025, OakNorth continued to invest in its US expansion, whilst simultaneously supporting businesses which are operating across both the US and UK – such as F1 Arcade, Ultimate Performance, and Mamas & Papas. Other growth areas included the acquisition (pending regulatory approval) of Community Unity Bank, its business banking offering – including a strategic transaction with Monite, and its AI capabilities working across model providers.

These investments were made while maintaining OakNorth’s robust financial discipline and substantial profits, and enabled the business to further enhance its efficiency. Various initiatives including a focus on AI drove a 10% improvement in operating leverage during the year, with its efficiency ratio improving from 29% to 26%.

Rishi Khosla, CEO and Co-founder of OakNorth, said: “Over the past decade, OakNorth has become the leading disruptor serving lower mid-market businesses. In 2025, we delivered £605.9m[7] ($787.7m) of gross revenue, becoming the only scaled distributor focused on lending to the lower mid-market segment. We maintained our disciplined approach to credit and capital allocation, generating strong retained earnings, while significantly investing for expansion. Our model was built to deliver forward-looking, customised credit solutions for ambitious, proven entrepreneurs. We started factoring in AI disruption impact into credit decisions in 2024. The fact that 40% of our originations now come from the US, demonstrates that this model is transferable and competitive in one of the world’s largest lending markets. With significant runway for growth across the UK and US, we’re primed to make our next decade even more impactful than our first.”

END

Notes to editors

Read the full 2025 Annual Report here.

About OakNorth Bank plc

Launched in September 2015, OakNorth is the bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. It was founded to address the persistent funding gap facing lower mid-market businesses – a segment that accounts for a significant share of economic output yet remains underserved by traditional banks.

To date, OakNorth has provided over $20bn in lending to thousands of entrepreneur-led businesses across the UK and US, supporting the creation of more than 70,000 jobs and generating more than £40bn in economic value. Throughout multiple economic cycles, the bank has maintained a highly disciplined approach to credit, delivering performance metrics that place it among the top 1% of commercial banks globally.

It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.

For press inquiries, please email:

[email protected]

Brunswick Group – [email protected]

[1] GBP to USD average exchange rate = 1.3

[2] Calculated on a cumulative basis since inception across all lending facilitated by the Bank. For real estate and asset-backed facilities, this reflects the aggregate value of the underlying collateral securing those facilities at the time of origination. For business trading facilities, this reflects the aggregate annual revenues of borrowing entities at the time of credit assessment. Figures are not adjusted for subsequent changes in asset values or borrower revenues. This is not a measure of loan book size, outstanding balances, or transaction proceeds.

[3] Gross cash lent to the borrowers excluding any interest dues. 0.045% is computed as £6.9 million of principal losses divided by £15.1 billion cumulative facilities granted since inception.

[4] OakNorth ranks among the top 5 banks in Western Europe and top 90 globally for Return on Assets (ROA) per The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks (July 2025), out of approximately 6,317 banks in the BIS LBS database (2024). The exact positioning of the ROA ranking is at 1.4%.

[5] Excluding strategic investment costs.

[6] Adjusted Return on equity (ROE) is computed as profit after tax attributable to ordinary shareholders expressed as a percentage of average regulatory equity capital excluding surplus.

[7] Computed as sum of interest and interest and fee income.

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