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Abbey part of Spanish giants Santander have seen profits rise by more than 25% on that of a year ago.

Pre-tax profits for the group that includes Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester rose by 25% to £372m. Revenue was up by 24%.

The company which cut costs by shedding 1,900 jobs at the end of last year, also said it was on course to cut costs by £180m by the end of 2011.

Santander however reported a 5% fall in net profit to 2.2bn euros ($2.8bn; £1.9bn).

“We have made a very strong start to 2009 with significant growth in profit and revenues. This is an excellent performance delivered in the toughest of economic environments,” Abbey said.

The company’s overall share of the UK mortgage market stood at 15%, while loans to small and medium-sized businesses rose by 10% over the three months.

The group opened 257,000 new current accounts during the period.

Santander’s profits were adversely affected by incorporating Alliance & Leicester and parts of Bradford & Bingley, it said.

The Spanish group bought Alliance & Leicester and the savings arm of nationalised Bradford & Bingley last year as the full effects of the global credit crunch took hold of the UK financial sector.