Alliance & Leicester achieved a 22 per cent rise in interim pre-tax profit in spite of a fall in net interest margins as the bank took on large volumes of mortgage lending. The former building society, which has been the subject of previous takeover speculation, said it did not believe that it was more of a bid target following the Santander Central Hispano offer for rival Abbey National. "I think we have all the ingredients for an independent Alliance & Leicester" said its chief executive, Richard Pym.