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BUILDING SOCIETIES AND MUTUALS
LAWYERS

Trusted strategic advisors to building societies and mutuals

We are widely recognised as having one of the leading building societies and mutuals teams in the UK. Our experience indcludes advising on numerous ground-breaking transactions and developments and market-firsts.

We advise more than 30 of the UK’s 42 building societies, as well as a wide range of clients across the broader mutuals sector in the UK and internationally, including leading mutual insurers, employee-owned mutuals, friendly societies, credit unions, housing associations and beyond.

Our multidisciplinary team includes specialists with deep sector experience across all our key practice areas, enabling us to take a practical and commercial approach while delivering cost-effective, seamless, high-quality advice. Our experience includes working closely with regulators, participating in industry working groups and helping to shape legal and regulatory change affecting the sector.

“Addleshaw Goddard is one of the key players when it comes to legal advice and expertise with respect to building societies.”
– The Building Societies Association

Building societies and mutuals highlights

ALL

30/42

1ST

of the last 24

of the UK's

building society

building society mergers were advised on by our team.

building societies are advised by us.

to achieve B corp status was advised by our team.

ALL

30/42

of the last 24

of the UK's

building society mergers were advised on by our team.

building societies are advised by us.

1ST

building society

to achieve B corp status was advised by our team.

Coventry building society

A building society, a bank, and a big step forward

We advised the UK’s second largest building society on a landmark £780 million acqusition that united £89 billion of assets under mutual ownership and was transformative in shaping the retail banking landscape.

Read the case study

Our work

All of the last 24 building society mergers

Advised on, amongst others, the mergers of: Nationwide Building Society with Portman, Derbyshire and Cheshire; Yorkshire Building Society with Chelsea, Norwich & Peterborough and Barnsley; Coventry Building Society with Stroud & Swindon; and Skipton Building Society with Scarborough, Chesham and Holmesdale; and Newcastle Building Society with Manchester.

Line art drawing of four building with cyan and purple watercolour

Coventry Building Society

Advised on its £780m cash acquisition of The Co-operative Bank Holdings p.l.c.

Nationwide Building Society

Advised on certain key aspects of its recommended all-cash acquisition of Virgin Money UK PLC valued at approximately £2.9bn and the subsequent transfer of substantially all of the business of Clydesdale Bank plc to Nationwide by way of banking transfer scheme under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Yorkshire Building Society

Advised on the acquisition of the £2.1 billion savings business and the £400 million mortgage book of Egg Banking plc from Citigroup by way of FSMA Part VII banking business transfer scheme.

Skipton Building Society

Advised on the acquisition of the Capital One savings business by way of banking business transfer scheme under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and on its disposals of Homeloan Management Limited (the UK’s leading third party mortgage administration business), independent financial services advisory business Torquil Clark Group and private medical insurance provider, The Private Health Partnership.

John Lewis

Advised on the establishment and authorisation of John Lewis Finance Limited.

Simplyhealth

Advised Simplyhealth on the sale of its private medical insurance business to Axa.

Homeowners Friendly Society (trading as Engage Mutual Assurance)

Advised on its merger with Family Assurance Friendly Society Ltd, creating One Family, a friendly society with around £6 billion of assets under management.

Building Societies Association (BSA)

Advised on the drafting and launch of the 7th Edition of the BSA's Model Rules.

City buildings represented by white blocks

Various building societies

Advised on the issue of new capital instruments and capital restructurings, including, amongst others: Leeds Building Society on its £2bn EMTN programme and issues of Senior Non-Preferred Fixed Rate Reset Notes under it; Coventry Building Society on the debt capital markets aspects of its acquisition of The Co-operative Bank Holdings p.l.c.; Saffron Building Society on its issue of Fixed Rate Reset Callable Subordinated Tier 2 Bonds; The arranger on the issue of CCDS by Ecology Building Society; Yorkshire Building Society on its buy back of permanent interest bearing shares; West Bromwich Building Society on its issue of PPDS; Chelsea Building Society on its issue of convertible PPDS; Newcastle Building Society on its capital restructuring involving contingent convertible PPDS; and Manchester Building Society on its private placement of £18 million PPDS.