Building Societies in the UK
The building societies are cooperative financial organisations owned by their members. Today, there are 43 building societies in the UK with approximately 26 million members, 42,000 employees and 1,280 branches across the nation. Over last three years, building societies helped about 350,000 first-time buyers to buy their first home. Nationwide, Yorkshire, Coventry, Skipton and Leeds are the top 5 building societies in the UK in terms of assets, deposits, loans, and number of customers and employees. Nationwide is the largest building society in the United Kingdom and worldwide, with over 16 million customers.
Top 10 Building Societies ranked by assets
Here is a list of the largest building societies in the UK. The top 10 building societies hold combined assets of over £500 billion.
| Rank | Name | Head Office | Total Assets (£b) | Membership | Branches |
| 1 | Nationwide * | Swindon, England | 269.36 | 16,300,000 | 650 |
| 2 | Yorkshire | Bradford, West Yorkshire | 74.23 | 2,591,000 | 112 |
| 3 | Coventry | Coventry, England | 61.73 | 2,073,000 | 64 |
| 4 | Skipton | Skipton, North Yorkshire | 34.70 | 1,260,000 | 82 |
| 5 | Leeds | Leeds, West Yorkshire | 28.25 | 945,300 | 50 |
| 6 | Principality | Cardiff, Wales | 12.31 | 534,700 | 53 |
| 7 | Newcastle | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | 6.21 | 370,100 | 32 |
| 8 | West Bromwich ** | West Bromwich, England | 5.90 | 398,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Nottingham | Nottingham, England | 4.48 | 292,300 | 31 |
| 10 | Cumberland ** | Carlisle, Cumbria, England | 3.21 | 165,100 | 34 |
Total assets as of December 31, 2023, unless otherwise noted
* Data as of April 4, 2024
** Data as of March 31, 2024
Full List of Building Societies
Bath Building Society, founded in 1904, provides mortgage and savings products through England, Wales and Scotland. It offers standard residential, buy-to-let, holiday let, self build and retirement mortgages as well as cash ISAs, Lifetime ISA (LISA) and business accounts. It also offers mortgages for university students.
Beverley Building Society is a member-owned organisation providing an array of financial services including mortgages, tax-free cash ISAs and business online accounts. It has around 14,000 members and 30 employees.
Buckinghamshire Building Society, based in the South East England, offers specialist mortgage and savings products, and broker online portal for Intermediaries.
Cambridge Building Society – An independent mutual society established in 1850. Today, it serves around 125,000 members and employs over 220 people across 14 branches. It provides fixed rate and variable rate mortgages, personal and business savings accounts, home insurance, travel money and other services.
Coventry Building Society offers award-winning savings accounts and mortgage loans through about 70 branches across East and West Midlands, Bath, Bristol & Somerset, Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. It has been named Best Building Society Savings Provider by Moneynet as well as Best Building Society by Savings Champion. It has an A2 credit rating from Moody’s and A from Fitch, with a stable outlook.
Cumberland Building Society – The tenth largest building society in the UK by assets and membership. It has over 30 branches and 20 ATMs and offers a range of affordable mortgage products and deposit accounts with attractive interest rates. In 2024, The Cumberland named the best mortgage provider for first-time buyers in the UK according to Moneyfacts.
Chorley & District Building Society
Hanley Economic Building Society
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society
Leeds Building Society
Manchester Building Society merged with Newcastle Building Society in July 2023 and it is now a trading name of Newcastle BS.
Market Harborough Building Society
Marsden Building Society
Melton Mowbray Building Society
Monmouthshire Building Society
National Counties Building Society, headquartered in Epsom, Surrey, trades as the Family Building Society. NCBS was established in 1896.
Nationwide Building Society is the largest building society in the UK. It offers current accounts, cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, bonds, residential and commercial mortgages, personal and car loans as well as no annual fee credit cards, investment services, financial advice, mobile and online banking, insurance and other services. In 2024, Nationwide reported revenue (total income) of £4.8 billion and profit before tax of £1.78 billion.
Newcastle Building Society
The Nottingham is a top ten UK building society with £4.8 billion of assets. The company has achieved a Trustpilot rating of 4.9 out of a possible 5 based on over 2,670 reviews as of November 1, 2024.
Penrith Building Society, located in Cumbria, North West England, is the smallest building society in the UK, with one branch and about 7,000 members. It was founded in 1877 and is a member of the Building Societies Association.
Principality Building Society
Saffron Building Society
Scottish Building Society – The oldest UK building society still in existence today. It was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Edinburgh.
Skipton Building Society is one the top five building societies in the UK. It operates through a network of about 90 branches, including Holborn branch in London as well as branches in Bristol, Bradford, Glasgow, Lancaster, Northampton, Aberdeen, Preston, Sheffield, Plymouth, Oxford, etc.
Stafford Railway Building Society
Suffolk Building Society (formerly Ipswich Building Society)
Swansea Building Society
Tipton & Coseley Building Society
Vernon Building Society
West Bromwich Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society, headquartered in Bradford, is one of the major mutual financial institutions in Britain, with mortgage balances of over £40 billion. YBS has been named Best First Time Buyer Mortgage Provider by Moneynet.
Last updated February 1, 2025