Paragon Banking jumps on profit and buy-back news 11.27am: Mortgage lender in demand Paragon Banking Group PLC (LON:PAG) is one of the day''s big risers. Its shares have climbed 8.11% to 553.5p after the buy-to-let specialist saw its pre-tax profits jumped 69% to £96.4ml and it announced a £40mln share buy-back. New mortgage loans jumped 45% in the half-year to end-March 2021 to £1.13bn with demand back to just below the pre-pandemic rate. Buy-to-let advances rose 58% on the previous six months to £715mln with the portfolio worth £10.9bn. 10.30am: Kitchen specialist upbeat Filta Group Holdings PLC ( LON:FLTA ), which provides services to commercial kitchens, is seeing increased demand as lockdown measures ease around the world. Its shares are up 4.53% or 7p at 161.5p after it said the US hospitality and leisure sectors were opening faster than anticipated, with its franchisees delivering a record $4.6mln of revenue in April, up from $3.1mln in January and well ahead of April 2019 ($4.3m), when $52m was achieved in the full year. In the UK the reopening has been more cautious but it said: "The company''s decision to focus on supermarkets and fast food chains has been a major factor in driving revenues whilst the hospitality venues have been closed, resulting in an increase in equipment installations and a robust sales pipeline." Europe has also started to reopen and the company sees good growth opportunities there.