Total lending by East of England-based “challenger” bank Cambridge & Counties has passed the £250million mark.

The bank, still in in only its third year, has seen continuous growth every month since it was launched in the summer of 2012 with the aim of providing lending, and a quality service, to small and medium sized businesses.

It says has also delivered on this second obvjective, having maintained a customer recommendation rate of 99%.

Cambridge & Counties Bank is jointly owned by the Cambridgeshire Local Government Pension Fund and Trinity Hall, a college of the University of Cambridge.

Chief executive Mike Kirsopp said: “£250million in lending is a landmark in our growth. But more importantly it shows that we are giving businesses what they need and what they cannot easily find elsewhere.

“All the customers I talk to appreciate our straightforward approach, clear and concise application processes and the human touch, notably in how we help borrowers to apply and how our underwriters personally assess each opportunity.

“It’s why our customers are so overwhelmingly happy to recommend us. And that’s not just something they say – by telling their colleagues and contacts about their experience with us they really do endorse what we do and how we do it. It is a real encouragement for us as we aim for the next milestones in our expansion.”

2014 saw Cambridge & Counties Bank open offices in Bristol and Sheffield, taking its offer to the South West and North in addition to its original heartlands of East Anglia and the Midlands.

In 2015 it will seek to further develop its products and to lend to an increasing number of SMEs both directly and through the growing number of brokers it works with.

It offers loans to local SMEs, commercial property investors and experienced residential landlords, with the majority of loan decisions made by the bank going through within 48 hours of a fully completed application being submitted.