Newcastle Building Society and Manchester Building Society have confirmed that they have entered into a “legally binding agreement” to merge by transferring Manchester’s engagements to Newcastle.
The merger is still subject to approval by the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), but if the regulator gives its approval, then the merger is expected to become effective on 1 July.
Manchester members will be issued a merger notification statement in the second week of April.
Members of Newcastle and Manchester will have the opportunity to go before the PRA prior to its decision and details of the process will be set out on both firms’ websites and be advertised in newspapers.
The Newcastle board said that it “looks forward to welcoming the members of Manchester as full members of Newcastle subject to the PRA confirming the merger”.
It follows the announcement earlier this month that the firms had struck an initial deal to transfer Manchester’s engagements to Newcastle.
More choice for savers and borrowers
The statement said the move would lead to “greater resilience and additional capital strength” for both parties.
It added that it would give greater product choice to savers and borrowers for Manchester and interest rates that were better than or in line with current deals.
Newcastle Building Society has close to 345,000 members and 31 branches. It employs around 1,400 people and is the eighth largest building society in the UK.
Manchester Building Society was founded in 1922 but had not done any new lending since 2013. It has c.11,000 members and no branches.
It employs 44 people and is the 41st largest Building Society in the UK.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
