A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and used to exist in Ireland and several Commonwealth countries. They are similar to credit unions in organisation, though few enforce a common bond. However, rather than promoting thrift and offering unsecured and business loans, the purpose of a building society is to provide home mortgages to members. Borrowers and depositors are society members, setting policy and appointing directors on a one-member, one-vote basis. Building societies often provide other retail banking services, such as current accounts, credit cards and personal loans. The term "building society" first arose in the 19th century in Great Britain from cooperative savings groups.
Cheshire is a county in the north west of England, bordering Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south, and Flintshire and Wrexham County Borough in Wales to the west. Cheshire's county town is the City of Chester (79,645); the largest town is Warrington (210,014). Other major towns include Crewe (75,000), Runcorn (61,789), Widnes (61,464), Ellesmere Port (55,715), Macclesfield (52,044), Winsford (33,700) and Northwich (19,924).
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire, containing the southern extremity of the Pennine range of hills which extend into the north of the county. The county contains part of the National Forest, and borders on Greater Manchester to the northwest, West Yorkshire to the north, South Yorkshire to the northeast, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the southeast, Staffordshire to the west and southwest and Cheshire also to the west. Kinder Scout, at 636 metres (2,087 ft), is the highest point in the county, whilst Trent Meadows, where the River Trent leaves Derbyshire, is its lowest point at 27 metres (89 ft). The River Derwent is the county's longest river at 66 miles (106 km), and runs roughly north to south through the county. In 2003 the Ordnance Survey placed Church Flatts Farm at Coton in the Elms as the farthest point from the sea in Great Britain.
Disley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, on the edge of the Peak District in the Goyt valley south of Stockport, close to the county boundary with Derbyshire at New Mills. The population at the 2011 Census was 4,294. To the north, the River Goyt and the Peak Forest Canal, which opened in 1800, pass along the edge of the village. Today it is a dormitory village retaining a semi-rural character.
Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution, the seventh largest cooperative financial institution and the largest building society in the world with over 15 million members. Its headquarters are in Swindon, England.
Accord is an independent trade union, affiliated to the TUC and the Scottish TUC. Accord is a specialist union for staff in financial services with members in the Lloyds Banking Group, MBNA, TSB, Equitable Life and Sainsbury's Bank. It has around 25,000 members.
The Leek & Moorlands Building Society was founded in Leek in 1856. It expanded steadily as a regional society until the late 1950s when it began a major expansion drive, partly through branch openings but also some 55 acquisitions. The most substantial of these were the NALGO Building Society in 1960; the Westbourne Park in 1965 ; and the Eastern Counties Building Society in 1974. The Society’s name was changed to the Britannia Building Society the following year.
The Portman Building Society was a mutual building society in the United Kingdom, providing mortgages and savings accounts to consumers and offering loans to commercial enterprises. Its head office was in Bournemouth and its administration centre in Wolverhampton. Portman merged with the Nationwide Building Society in August 2007, at which time it was the third largest building society in the UK and the largest regional building society in the south of England, with 154 branches and assets exceeding £15 billion.
The Nationwide Group Staff Union (NGSU) is an independent trade union in the United Kingdom. It has a membership of over 12,000 and represents workers within the Nationwide Building Society and its associated companies.
The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) is the ambulance service for North West England. It is one of 10 Ambulance Trusts providing England with Emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service, receiving direct government funding for its role.
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society is a trading name of Yorkshire Building Society based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Formed by the merger of the Norwich and Peterborough building societies in 1986, at the time of merger with YBS, it was the ninth largest building society in the United Kingdom, with assets in excess of £4.9 billion.
The Cheshire Building Society was a building society based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It was the 11th largest building society in the United Kingdom based on total assets of £5 billion on 31 December 2007, prior to merging with the Nationwide Building Society, and was a member of the Building Societies Association. The Cheshire was acquired by Nationwide on 15 December 2008, which was as a result of its approach to the Nationwide in September 2008 regarding a possible merger due to its financial position.
Derbyshire Building Society was a UK building society based in Duffield, Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. It was the 9th largest building society in the United Kingdom based on total assets of £7.1 billion at 31 December 2007, until it was acquired by Nationwide Building Society on 1 December 2008. It operated as a trading division of the society, with 50 branches, until it was fully integrated into its parent in November 2014.
Leek United Building Society is an independent mutual building society based in Leek, Staffordshire, England. It is the 16th largest building society in the UK, based on total assets of £1,091.4m as at 31 December 2019. The Society has 12 branches and two agencies across Cheshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is a member of the Building Societies Association.
The Anglia Building Society in the United Kingdom was originally formed by the merger of the Northampton Town and County and Leicestershire building societies in 1966. In 1987, it merged with Nationwide Building Society, becoming Nationwide Anglia Building Society before reverting to the Nationwide name in 1992.
The Derbyshire Group Staff Union was a trade union in the United Kingdom, representing workers at the Derbyshire Building Society.
The Alliance for Finance is a trade union federation in the United Kingdom.
Graham John Beale and former Chief executive of the Nationwide Building Society.
