New British bank Aldermore more than doubles 2014 profit

(Corrects net interest margin figure in paragraph 3)

LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - British bank Aldermore (IPO-ALDE.L) said its pretax profit more than doubled in 2014 and its profit margin improved as it continued to increase lending to small firms and homeowners.

Aldermore, founded in 2009 by former Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) executive Phillip Monks with backing from private equity firm AnaCap, has established itself as one of the more credible newcomers trying to challenge Britain's established banks.

The bank said on Tuesday its underling pretax profit grew to 56 million pounds ($86 million) in 2014. The bank's net interest margin increased 40 basis points to 3.4 percent in 2014.

Aldermore, which does not have branches, focuses on lending to small businesses, savings products and home loans, and has picked up customers from larger banks which are downsizing and building capital to meet tougher rules from regulators. ($1 = 0.6509 pounds) (Reporting by Matt Scuffham. Editing by Jane Merriman)