Cumberland Building Society

Last updated

Cumberland Building Society
Company type Building society (mutual)
Industry
Founded16 April 1850
Headquarters Carlisle, England, UK
Number of locations
34
Key people
  • John Hooper (chair)
  • Des Moore (chief executive)
Products
RevenueIncrease2.svg£84.4 million (2023)
Increase2.svg£26.6 million (2023)
Increase2.svg£21.6 million (2023)
Total assets Increase2.svg£3,090.1 million (2023)
Total equity Increase2.svg£226.6 million (2023)
Number of employees
  • Decrease Neutral.svg 634 (2023)
  • 584 (2022)
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Cumberland Building Society, trading as The Cumberland, is a building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It is a member of the Building Societies Association.

Contents

The Cumberland was established on 16 April 1850 as the Cumberland Co-operative Land and Benefit Building Society. It is the 10th largest building society in the United Kingdom based on total assets of more than £3 billion as at 31 March 2023. [1]

In 2014 the Cumberland became the first UK building society to offer a mobile payments service linked to a mobile phone number, called Pay2Mobile. It became part of the national Paym mobile payments service later that year. [2]

Formation of the Society

The Cumberland has its origins as one of the freehold land societies common at the time. The format was pioneered in 1847 by the Birmingham Freehold Land Society and one of the noted exponents was the National Building Society in 1849 (better known as one half of the Abbey National). The Cumberland was originally launched as the Cumberland Co-operative Land and Benefit Building Society but, as with the National, it was required to remove “Land” from its legal name as a requirement of registration under the Benefit Building Societies Act 1836. However, at its first AGM, the Society still referred to itself as The Cumberland Freehold Land Society. The formation of the Cumberland was associated with the “forty shilling freeholders movement” (whereby voting rights could be secured by the possession of freehold land with an annual value of £2) although the emphasis of the inaugural publicity and meetings was on the benefits of co-operative purchase and development of land. One of the declared objectives of the Society was “to supply at wholesale prices, allotments of freehold land, adapted to confer a vote for the county – such allotment to be paid for by small weekly subscriptions.” Having bought the land, the Society carried out all the functions of a developer, laying out streets, providing sewerage, fencing etc. selling the serviced plots to individuals at the wholesale price. Within weeks of its formation, the Society had 1260 members and by the end of the year it had acquired two estates, Edentown and Belle View. [3]

Branch locations

Cumberland Building Society branch in Ambleside. Cumberland Building Society, Ambleside (27th September 2020).jpg
Cumberland Building Society branch in Ambleside.

Ambleside, Annan, Appleby-In-Westmorland*, Aspatria, Barrow-in-Furness*, Brampton*, Carlisle*, Cleator Moor, Cockermouth*, Dalston, Dumfries*, Egremont, Gretna, Haltwistle, Kendal*, Keswick*, Lancaster* [4] Langholm, Lockerbie, Longtown, Maryport, Penrith*, Preston*, Silloth, Ulverston*, Whitehaven*, Wigton, Windermere, Workington*,

References

  1. "The Cumberland Report and Accounts Year ended 31 March 2023" (PDF). 18 February 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  2. "Cumberland Ready For National Mobile Payments Service Launch". Cumberland Building Society. 21 March 2014. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014.
  3. Archibald Creighton, Through two Half-centuries from 1850 to1950 A History of the Cumberland Co-operative Benefit Building Society, 1950, Carlisle
  4. "Cumberland opens in Lancaster". Cumberland Building Society. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013.