Stroud & Swindon Building Society

Infobox_Company
company_name = Stroud & Swindon Society
company_
company_type = Building Society (Mutual)
company_slogan = Your Building Society
foundation = 1850
location = Stroud, England, UK
key_people = Laurence James, Chairman
David Hill ACA, Chief Executive
num_employees = 400+
industry = Banking and Financial Services
products = Savings, Mortgages, Investments,
Loans, Credit Cards, Insurance
net_income = £5.6 million GBP (December 2007), 7.8% on 2006
assets = £3.2 billion GBP (December 2007), 12.6% on 2006
homepage = [http://www.stroudandswindon.co.uk/ www.stroudandswindon.co.uk]

Stroud & Swindon Building Society is the fifteenth largest UK mutual building society, with headquarters in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England and total assets of £3.2 billion as at 31 December 2007. [ [http://www.stroudandswindon.co.uk/uploads/Documents/annual_report_%2008.pdf] Stroud & Swindon Building Society Financial Report, 2007] It is a member of the Building Societies Association.

Stroud & Swindon Building Society operates through a dedicated team of intermediary business development managers, with a branch network of 22 offices and 20 agencies in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Monmouthshire, Devon and Cornwall complemented by a contact centre (call centre) based in Gloucester. Stroud & Swindon is a provider of both Mortgages and Savings in the UK, as well as offering Loans, Credit Cards and Insurance.

The Stroud & Swindon Building Society was originally established in 1850 as the Stroud Provident Benefit Building Society.

History

Stroud and Swindon Building Society was originally established in 1850 as the Stroud Provident Benefit Building Society. The first head office was in Rowcroft in Stroud where the offices of Winterbothams solicitors are now and indeed Lyndsey Winterbotham was the first Chairman. After transferring for a period to larger premises in Russell Street, the Society moved in 1990 to its current purpose built head office, less than convert|200|yd away from the original location.

Over the years a series of acquisitions of other societies including the Bristol Permanent Building Society and the Frome and Selwood Building Society saw the Stroud Building Society develop and grow. Merger with the Swindon Permanent Building Society in 1986 led to the change to the current title of Stroud & Swindon.

Community Support

Stroud & Swindon support non-profit events and voluntary groups located within its region. Donations or assistance tends to be on a one-off basis and in order to make its support as effective as possible it focuses on projects in areas where it has branches and can make the most impact.

The Society has 22 branches based in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset and Monmouthshire and in 2007 they each nominated their own local charity to support for the year. It also supports a number of other local charities which meet its overall criteria as well as some major national events such as BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief.

Stroud & Swindon has also developed affinity savings accounts with Bath RFC, Forest Green Rovers F.C., The Willow Trust and The Cotswold Care Hospice.

troud & Swindon Hot Air Balloons

The Society has two hot air balloons, one a conventional balloon and the other specially shaped in the form of a house.

The conventional shaped balloon is being used for educational purposes and in 2007 has visited well over 20 primary schools in the South West. Pupils receive a 30 minute talk about the theory of aviation and how a balloon works. The balloon is then inflated on the school playing field and children get to see this at close hand often partaking in the fun.

The special shaped balloon made its debut at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. It is one of the largest special shaped balloons in the UK. It stands over 20 metres high, has a cubic capacity of convert|105000|cuft|m3, weighs 320 kg and its perimeter is 52 metres.

Both balloons also feature in promotional events, country shows and balloon fiestas.

References

External links

* [http://www.stroudandswindon.co.uk/ Stroud & Swindon Building Society]
* [http://www.bsa.org.uk Building Societies Association]
* [http://www.kpmg.co.uk/pubs/98126%20Building%20Societies%20database%202008_accessible.pdf KPMG Building Societies Database 2008]