Subprime lender Provident Financial has reported a 19.5 per cent rise in adjusted pre-tax profit, helped by a jump in customers at Vanquis Bank, its biggest division.

The company, which provides credit cards and loans to customers in the UK and Ireland who are unable to meet the lending criteria of mainstream banks, said it had made a strong start to the new year.

"Vanquis Bank and Moneybarn continue to trade strongly and the home credit business has enjoyed a strong collections performance," chief executive Peter Crook said.

Subprime, or non-standard, lending has been growing in popularity in the UK as banks have tightened their lending criteria and some people find it necessary to borrow small sums for short periods to help manage their finances.

Provident Financial's operations consist of Vanquis Bank, consumer credit operations including online lending business Satsuma and recently acquired Moneybarn, a provider of vehicle loans in the UK.

The company's adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £234.4 million in 2014, from £196.1m a year earlier.

The lender said it would pay a total dividend of 98 pence, up from 85p.

Provident said it would close its pilot lending operation in Poland after it lost £10.6m last year, wider than the £7.6m in the prior 12 months.

"With arguably more immediate growth prospects in Vanquis UK, Satsuma and Moneybarn, it is a sensible decision in our view," JP Morgan Cazenove analysts said in a note.

Vanquis Bank's customers increased 17.7 per cent to 1.3 million. The company said it expected the medium-term potential size of the business to increase to between 1.5 million and 1.8 million customers.