Completion of Skipton Chesham merger

Today saw the coming together of two of the UK's longest-established building societies, as the merger of Skipton and Chesham went ahead.

For both sets of members, this means access to more branches and - for those from Chesham - to new services, including the ability to transact by telephone and online too.

The merger has also marginally increased the capital strength of the enlarged Skipton - which now has more than £15bn of assets and over 850,000 members - bringing the combined membership additional reassurance.

For employees of Chesham, which was the UK's oldest building society, being part of a much bigger business with a more extensive range of services, brings exciting personal and professional opportunities.

David Cutter, Skipton Group Chief Executive, said: "It's fantastic to welcome Chesham members and staff on board, and a great credit to both organisations to have fully integrated all operations within only three months of announcing our intention to merge.

"Given the two societies' shared commitment to staff, member service excellence and support for their communities, the completion of our merger marks the start of an exciting new chapter, heralding fresh benefits and opportunities for all concerned."