Chelsea Building Society
Encyclopedia
Chelsea Building Society was the fourth largest Building Society
in the United Kingdom
with total assets in excess of £13 billion at 31 December 2007 . It is a member of the Building Societies Association
. Operating mainly in South East England
with its network of 35 branches, its head office is based in Cheltenham
employing over a 800 staff. The society was established in 1875 as the London & Camberwell Building Society. Three years later, in 1878, the Borough of Chelsea Permanent Building Society was formed. Over the years both societies merged with smaller societies and on 31 December 1966 the two societies merged to create a new society with assets of £30 million. The new society was called the Chelsea and South London Building Society until April 1971 when the name was changed to Chelsea Building Society.
Following the merger in 1966, the administrative headquarters were based in Streatham, with the registered office at 110 Kings Road, Chelsea. In 1973, having outgrown the accommodation at Streatham, the administrative headquarters moved to Thirlestaine Hall in Cheltenham. On 1 July 1988 Chelsea completed a merger with the City of London Building Society, with the name Chelsea remaining unaffected .
In 2006 Chelsea opened a purpose built customer contact centre close the Head Office at the old Charlton Kings railway station
as a commitment to keep its call centre
s UK based, which won environmental
awards for its use of geothermal heating
, green building
and "green" credentials .
In February 2007 they acquired Britannia Capital Securities (BCS), a medium sized independent firm of Secured Loan and Mortgage brokers operating in the UK, in order to further diversify their lending .
The Society remained operational during the 2007 United Kingdom floods
, despite having no running water for several weeks.
On 7 June 2008 it was announced by both Catholic Building Society
and Chelsea Building Society that they were to merge .
On 10 October 2008, Chelsea revealed £55 million of its liquid assets (1.55%) were invested in the troubled Icelandic banks. Whilst the amount involved is a small percentage of assets, it represents almost one year's operating profit for Chelsea .
On 31 December 2008 the merger between Chelsea Building Society and Catholic Building Society completed.
In August 2009 it was revealed the Chelsea had written off £41m in "potentially fraudulent loans" made in 2006-2008. Although it had made a underlying operational profit of £18m.
A new temporary Chief Executive, Stuart Bernau, was appointed to fill the space left by former Chief Executive Richard Hornbrook in August 2009, and also to conduct a systematic review of Chelsea's future. The findings were announced to the press the week beginning 30 November 2009 .
. The following day they announced a formal merger. At a Special General Meeting in Bradford on 23 January 2010, Yorkshire Building Society members approved the merger proposal.
The merger completed on 1 April 2010. Shortly afterward, Yorkshire announced the closure of Chelsea's operational presence at the original Cheltenham Head Office in Thirlestaine Road by 2011, relocating the remaining staff to the second, smaller site at the old Charlton Kings railway station
.
Building society
A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially mortgage lending. These institutions are found in the United Kingdom and several other countries.The term "building society"...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with total assets in excess of £13 billion at 31 December 2007 . It is a member of the Building Societies Association
Building Societies Association
The Building Societies Association is the trade organisation of the building societies in the United Kingdom. In 2011 the 48 building societies in the UK had total assets of over £317 billion. 15 million adults have building society saving accounts and over 2.9 million adults are currently buying...
. Operating mainly in South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
with its network of 35 branches, its head office is based in Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
employing over a 800 staff. The society was established in 1875 as the London & Camberwell Building Society. Three years later, in 1878, the Borough of Chelsea Permanent Building Society was formed. Over the years both societies merged with smaller societies and on 31 December 1966 the two societies merged to create a new society with assets of £30 million. The new society was called the Chelsea and South London Building Society until April 1971 when the name was changed to Chelsea Building Society.
Following the merger in 1966, the administrative headquarters were based in Streatham, with the registered office at 110 Kings Road, Chelsea. In 1973, having outgrown the accommodation at Streatham, the administrative headquarters moved to Thirlestaine Hall in Cheltenham. On 1 July 1988 Chelsea completed a merger with the City of London Building Society, with the name Chelsea remaining unaffected .
Charlton Kings railway station
Charlton Kings railway station was a small station in Gloucestershire serving the village of Charlton Kings and the southern outskirts of Cheltenham Spa.-History:...
as a commitment to keep its call centre
Call centre
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
s UK based, which won environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
awards for its use of geothermal heating
Geothermal heating
Geothermal heating is the direct use of geothermal energy for heating applications. Humans have taken advantage of geothermal heat this way since the Paleolithic era. Approximately seventy countries made direct use of a total of 270 PJ of geothermal heating in 2004...
, green building
Green building
Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...
and "green" credentials .
In February 2007 they acquired Britannia Capital Securities (BCS), a medium sized independent firm of Secured Loan and Mortgage brokers operating in the UK, in order to further diversify their lending .
The Society remained operational during the 2007 United Kingdom floods
2007 United Kingdom floods
The 2007 United Kingdom floods were a series of destructive floods that occurred in various areas across the country during the summer of 2007. The most severe floods occurred across Northern Ireland on 12 June; East Yorkshire and The Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire,...
, despite having no running water for several weeks.
On 7 June 2008 it was announced by both Catholic Building Society
Catholic Building Society
The Catholic Building Society was a UK building society based in Westminster, London. It was the 57th largest in the United Kingdom based on total assets of £44 million at 31 December 2007....
and Chelsea Building Society that they were to merge .
On 10 October 2008, Chelsea revealed £55 million of its liquid assets (1.55%) were invested in the troubled Icelandic banks. Whilst the amount involved is a small percentage of assets, it represents almost one year's operating profit for Chelsea .
On 31 December 2008 the merger between Chelsea Building Society and Catholic Building Society completed.
In August 2009 it was revealed the Chelsea had written off £41m in "potentially fraudulent loans" made in 2006-2008. Although it had made a underlying operational profit of £18m.
A new temporary Chief Executive, Stuart Bernau, was appointed to fill the space left by former Chief Executive Richard Hornbrook in August 2009, and also to conduct a systematic review of Chelsea's future. The findings were announced to the press the week beginning 30 November 2009 .
Merger with Yorkshire
On 1 December 2009, Chelsea announced being in advanced merger talks with Yorkshire Building SocietyYorkshire Building Society
The Yorkshire Building Society is the second largest building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Assets now exceed £20 billion....
. The following day they announced a formal merger. At a Special General Meeting in Bradford on 23 January 2010, Yorkshire Building Society members approved the merger proposal.
The merger completed on 1 April 2010. Shortly afterward, Yorkshire announced the closure of Chelsea's operational presence at the original Cheltenham Head Office in Thirlestaine Road by 2011, relocating the remaining staff to the second, smaller site at the old Charlton Kings railway station
Charlton Kings railway station
Charlton Kings railway station was a small station in Gloucestershire serving the village of Charlton Kings and the southern outskirts of Cheltenham Spa.-History:...
.