2025 is a significant year as we celebrate 250 years since the first ever building society was founded
Background
Let's rewind to 1775, poverty is widespread across the country and nobility remains powerful. For your everyday worker of humble origins - times are difficult. Owning property and saving money is impractical and merely only an aspiration for many.
Something needed to change… step forward Richard Ketley, landlord of the Golden Cross Inn in Birmingham. Here he launched Ketley's Building Society, the first ‘mutual’ building society: an organisation created by working people to help other working people buy homes by collecting their savings together.
Ketley’s Building Society ignited the emergence of mutuals, providing the chance for everyday working people to become homeowners and savers. Like many good ideas, it caught on, by 1910 there were over 1,700 societies supporting over 600,000 members nationwide.
As we fast forward to today, Building Societies across the UK and the Building Societies Association are celebrating the 250th anniversary year of the first known building society. This provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our origins and how the purpose of building societies and mutuals has evolved over time – and we are still growing.
Here at Harpenden our drive to serve our members and to help them secure their financial future so that their dreams and aspirations are made possible has never faltered. We are extremely proud to be independent Mutual Building Society - one which supports, values and cares about its members and local communities.
Building Societies are different
Building Societies & Credit Unions are different because…
- We reinvest our profits, so you get better rates.
- We don’t pay out to external shareholders, because we don’t have any.
- We’re owned by you, so it’s you we’re working for.
- We value you as an individual.
- We take pride in treating you fairly.
- We’re genuinely committed to supporting communities.
- We’re keeping branches open, and we’re opening more.
- We’re purpose driven, and we are truly sustainable.
- We’ve got 250 years of doing the right thing.
Unlike banks who…
- Prioritise making as much profit as possible.
- Pay dividends to their external shareholders.
- Don’t offer the same long term value to customers.
- Close branches and abandon high streets.
The latest data shows that most of the growth in the mortgage market was provided by building societies. In the nine months to September 2024, building societies accounted for 89% of all UK mortgage growth.
Building societies still focus on helping people to achieve homeownership and regularly introduce innovative products to overcome the barriers faced by first-time buyers. In the first nine months of 2024, building societies provided 87,500 mortgages to people taking their first step on to the property ladder, evidence that we continue to find solutions to the challenges facing ordinary working people who aspire to be homeowners.
Helping people to build financial resilience and make the most of their money is equally important to building societies as supporting people into homeownership.
In 2023, building society savers received £2.1 billion more in interest than if they had been paid the average rates offered by large banks. This commitment to providing better value is why building societies attracted £20.7 billion in cash savings in the first nine months of 2024, accounting for more than one-third of all growth in UK savings balances.
An example of how building societies support and invest in our local communities is through our branches. We are much more likely than banks to retain our high street presence. Building societies current share of UK high street branches is 30%, more than double the proportion we had (14%) in 2013.
No wonder 72% of building society customers said we are an important part of their community, compared to just 54% of bank customers.
Our dedication to our members extends beyond financial products. Here at Harpenden Building Society, our communities are at the heart of what we do. We continue supporting local charities, events and organisations which contribute to the quality of life in the communities we serve. You can view our most recent volunteering and community stories here.
Every year we also have an Endowment Fund which helps support children, health and local community projects primarily within the geographic area of Hertfordshire but also Bedfordshire. All our grants have been delivered in collaboration with Hertfordshire Community Foundation (HCF), an independent countywide charity that provides grant support to local grassroots organisations and to children and families in crisis by encouraging local philanthropy. HCF helps identify and research suitable projects for us to fund in line with our areas of priority. You can view our most recent grants here.
Tracie Pearce, CEO, Harpenden Building Society
“At Harpenden Building Society we have never lost sight of our purpose to help our members to save and to become homeowners. I am proud that our way of doing business is different to the banks.”
“We’re on the high street for those who value our face-to-face service, while also offering the technology to support customers who prefer to connect with us online or by phone.”
“We were founded by everyday working people, for everyday working people - to support local communities and help them thrive.”
“If you're looking for a financial organisation that truly puts its customers first, it's worth thinking carefully about who you choose to work with. Like all building societies, Harpenden Building Society is here to support homeownership, help you make the most of your money, and strengthen your local community.”
Gill Pearce, Branch Manager, Radlett and Tring Branches
“At a time when many banks and building societies are leaving the High Street, we’re proud to keep our branches open for the communities we serve.”
“We know that many of our members still value face-to-face service alongside the convenience of online banking. That’s why we’re committed to offering both - so you can choose what works best for you.”
“Supporting our local communities is at the heart of what we do. Whether it’s through our everyday service or sponsoring local events, we’re here to make a difference where it matters most.”
Isabel Hare, Branch Manager, Harpenden and Leighton Buzzard Branches
"Our branches are an integral part of the community, where we can we support community events either through sponsorship or attending the events."
"Some customers like to speak to a person and have that interaction instead of going online."
"We still offer passbooks which the youngest and oldest generations love as they can see the balance in front of them."
Key Statistics
42
Building Societies
52,300
Full and part-time employees
26 million
Customers
1,300
Branches
£525 billion
Total assets
30%
Share of financial services branches (up from 14% in 2012)
Content courtesy of the Building Societies Association