NAMES MAY CHANGE BUT.......

On Friday I played in the annual Building Societies Association golf day at the Leicestershire golf club and managed to win the event with the lowest net score (66 as you ask). The trophy I won is a handsome, silver "layer cake" engraved with winners dating back to 1930 when a gentleman named C.O.Marshall from the Abbey Road building society won the event at Walton Heath golf club. Since then the list of societies engraved on the trophy include Colchester Permanent, Huddersfield & Bradford, Middleton and the Burnley as well as more recent "plc converters" such as Woolwich and Halifax. The rich history of the mutual sector is always engaging but the list of names also reminded me that , despite media coverage to the contrary, the consolidation of our sector is not a new phenomenon. Building societies have survived and thrived through market turbulence and many boom & bust cycles. More UK adults than ever before do business with mutuals, and although the flavour may change the mould is still fit for purpose.