London  - A leading British mortgage lender issued a profit warning Monday but also confirmed that it had sold a 23-per cent stake to a top US equity firm to bolster its finances.

Bradford & Bingley, Britain's leading buy-to-let lender, said US investor Texas Pacific Group (TPG) had agreed to inject 179 million pounds (358 million dollars) in return for its share.

The mortgage lender, Britain's eight-biggest, warned that underlying profits for the first four months stood at 56 million pounds, compared with 108 million for the same period in 2007.

Bradford & Bingley said it still needed to raise 258 million pounds from shareholders in a rights issues.

On the eve of the announcement, the bank's chief chief executive, Steven Crawshaw, stepped down, citing health reasons. (dpa)