Newbury Building Society

Newbury Building Society was established in 1856 under the name of "The Newbury Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society".At the first Annual General Meeting in November 1857, it was reported that mortgage advances totalling £840 had been granted. There were 57 members and the profit for the year was £14 and 10 shillings.In January 1894, a struggling rival, Newbury and District Industrial Building Society, merged with the newly named Newbury and Permanent Benefit Building Society. In 1896 the Society's original rented premises in Northbrook Street were purchased for £525 and it operated here until 1934 when offices in Bartholomew Street were acquired (now occupied by Sovereign Housing Association).In 1932, the Society's name was changed to "Newbury Building Society". The first branch was opened in Aldershot in 1962 and in the 1970s and early 1980s the Society expanded its network by establishing branches in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and North Hampshire. In 1982, the Society's central administration moved to a purpose built building behind the offices in Bartholomew Street and the front offices became the Newbury branch.