Our Story

Our Story: A Building Society That Puts People Before Profit

Communities need organisations that truly care about their people, not those looking to turn a profit. As a mutual, we serve our members, not shareholders, and we’ve been doing this for over 70 years.

Learn about Harpenden Building Society’s story, from our origins and aims to our successes and evolution.

A little about Harpenden Building Society’s heritage

We’re proud to be an independent mutual, owned by our savers and borrowers. The Harpenden Building Society story started in 1953, when a group of local businesspeople came together to unite a community. The Society, steered by this pioneering group, overcame adversity, believing the community deserved support to buy local homes and save for their future.

Having recently celebrated our platinum jubilee, we’re keen to hark back to our heritage, while continuing to modernise and grow, becoming big enough to compete yet small enough to care and deliver that all-important human touch.

Our journey: milestones, journey and the future

Here are a few key milestones in Harpenden Building Society’s journey:

• Formed in 1953 in Harpenden, in the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation
• Began offering a range of savings accounts and mortgages
• Devised a tailored approach, with mortgages individually underwritten, based on unique circumstances, and savings accounts that serve various needs
• Grew our team to over 80 employees
• Maintained branches across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, including our recently unveiled new high street branch in Harpenden, opened in 2026, committing to in-person financial support in an increasingly impersonal banking landscape
• Backed and sponsored numerous community events, clubs and activities – funding from our Grassroots Endowment Fund has supported St Albans-based youth counselling charity, Youth Talk and many others
• Recognised with a ‘Very Good’ status by Best Companies’ employee engagement survey and featured in the Top 50 Best Small Companies to Work for in the 2025 list
• Won the title of Best Local Building Society in 2025 in What Mortgage Awards (an award we’ve previously won several times)

We recently gave our brand a little boost to reflect the organisation we are today and what we aim to become. This includes our fresh new look and the way we communicate: clear, confident and with care.

Bringing confidence to the community

We provide local communities with a safe and convenient home for their money while helping people across the country with complex financial profiles and specialist property needs. Our tailored approach allows us to offer solutions where other banks and building societies can’t.

At Harpenden Building Society, we aim to make a difference and breed confidence amongst borrowers, savers and colleagues – all members of the community we serve.

We also play an active role in the community through our support for local charities, businesses and initiatives.

A mutual that puts purpose over profit

We’re a mutual with branches in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, that’s not answerable to any shareholders. We put purpose over profit, with any profit we make put back into the Society to benefit our members.

While we’re big enough to compete and offer flexible, fairly-priced financial solutions, we’re still a local building society that’s small enough to provide a hands-on service. That means you enjoy convenience and the feel-good factor that comes from a personal touch from an organisation that truly cares.

Find out more about who we are and what we stand for at Harpenden.

A great place to work

Harpenden Building Society was voted a ‘Very Good’ place to work in 2025 in the prestigious Best Companies survey. We were also well-placed in the lists of Best Small Companies in the UK (#45), Best Companies in the East of England (#31) and Best Financial Services Companies in the UK (#20).

This is a great achievement and something we’re very proud of – pats on the back for the tireless efforts of all our colleagues and the team’s constant hard work.

There are Harpenden Building Society branches in Radlett, Leighton Buzzard and, of course, Harpenden, where our Head Office is also situated. Don’t forget to pop in!

Want to work for us? See why people join Harpenden Building Society, what it’s like working for us and our current job opportunities.