History

The Britannia Building Society began its long history in 1856 as the Leek and Moorlands Building Society with 204 members. Through a series of mergers and takeovers, not unlike many other building societies brought it to where it is today, known as the Britannia Building Society.

In 1938, the Leek and Moorlands Building Society undertook its first merger of Longton Mutual Permanent Benefit Building Society. And by 1960, when they merged with NALGO Building Society, they were already considered one of the top ten building societies in the UK. With the amalgamation in 1965 with Westbourne Park Building Society, saw a name change to Leek & Westbourne.

Other changes that affected these organizations that were milestones included:

• Britannia became the Britannia Building Society in 1975.
• In 2001 Platform was bought, later merged with Verso in 2003 to become Britannia Building Society's specialised intermediary lender.
• In 2005 Britannia Building Society acquired the savings and branch business of Bristol & West from the Bank of Ireland, including services offered to over 700,000 customers.
• January 2009, the boards of Britannia Building Society and The Co-operative Financial Services jointly announced a plan to merge. This official merger happened in August 2009.

Britannia provides financial services both directly and through more than 250 branches. They serve over 2 million customers making them the second largest building society in the UK. They provide mortgages and savings, as well as commercial lending. Britannia also has an agreement with AXA to provide life assurance, pension protection and investment products through its branch network.

The merged organization offers a distinct opportunity for their clients and members. They offer a unique alternative to shareholder and government owned banks that is fair, ethical and co-operative. Both Britannia and The Co-operative Financial Services have a proud history of putting members and customers interests first.

Remortgages offered through Britannia

With a flexible, competitive and easy to understand range of products, it's easy to see why 92% of new Britannia mortgage customers say they would recommend the Britannia Building Society to friends and family.

• Fixed Rate Mortgages: the interest rate is fixed until the end of the term, so the monthly payments won't change.
• Flexible: with this types if mortgage you decide if you want to overpay or underpay. You could pay off your mortgage early saving yourself money or choose instead to take a payment holiday, so that you can take a break from regular mortgage payments. A flexible re-mortgage option is also available. The rate is set according to the Bank of England base rate, plus a charge set by the society, for the term of the mortgage. Application and administration charges will apply (there is no application fee for the re-mortgage product). There is no early repayment charge.
• Standard Variable Rate: as the name suggests this type of mortgage is set at Britannia's standard variable rate. There is no arrangement fee. There is no early repayment charge. An administration fee is applicable.
• Tracker Mortgages: your mortgage rate tracks the Bank of England base rate. You can choose from a 2 year discount, 2 year discount re-mortgage or a lifetime tracker mortgage. The discount is set off the Bank of England base rate for the first 2 years and then reverts to a rate above the base rate. The lifetime mortgage is set according to the Bank of England base rate plus a charge for the mortgage term. There is no early repayment charge. Application and administration charges will apply.
• Offset Mortgage: this type of mortgage links your Britannia savings account with your mortgage. You won't receive interest on your savings but your account is offset against your mortgage so you could potentially pay less. The rate is set according to the Bank of England base rate, plus a charge set by the society, for the term of the mortgage. Application and administration charges will apply (there is no application fee for the re-mortgage product). There is no early repayment charge.

There is also the option of splitting your mortgage between a tracker and a fixed rate and only be subjected to one arrangement fee. You can obtain more information for a mortgage quote by completing their quick enquiry form online.