Legal & General Home Finance has become the biggest provider of lifetime mortgages in the first half of this year (H1).

The lending company secured a 30% market share across the first six months of 2017, according to the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index (FTSE 100) services group.

A total of £424.3 million was recorded for Legal & General’s lifetime mortgage lending for H1, which followed on from its growth in 2016 when the company reached over £620 million.

According to figures from the Equity Release Council, the high volume of sales come amid a fast-growing equity release market, which has recorded second quarter (Q2) growth of 36% as more people look to property wealth to fund retirement.

Steve Ellis, managing director at Legal & General Home Finance, said: “Legal & General has always set out to lead this market and help more people to understand the positive role property wealth can play in retirement.”

“The results show that we continue to go from strength to strength, meeting the rising demand from consumers who increasingly want to access the equity stored in their home to fund retirement.”

After joining the market in 2015, Legal & General continues to offer drawdown options across its mortgage range and establish lifetime mortgages to Santander interest-only customers.

Ellis added: “I am immensely proud of the work the team at Legal & General Home Finance has done to put us in this position, but as a lender that has a responsibility to this market there is of course more we can do.”

“For our adviser partners and our customers, innovation, distribution and flexibility remain key to our growth mission and the story has only just begun.”