Bristol & West

Bristol & West (B&W) was a former mutual building society in the United Kingdom (UK), one of the first to be demutualised to become a publicly traded bank in 1997.[2][3] Bristol & West had its headquarters in Bristol, England, UK. B&W became a division of the UK arm of the Bank of Ireland in 1997.

Bristol & West plc[1]
Bristol & West
FormerlyBristol, West of England and South Wales Permanent Building Society
Typeoriginally:
mutual building society until July 1997,[2]
then:
public limited bank,[3]
now:
banking division of Bank of Ireland
LSE: BWSA[1]
ISINGB0000510205[1]
IndustryFinance and investments
Founded1850 (1850) in Bristol, England
Defunct2009 (2009)
FateSold and divested (1997-2005), liquidated (2023)[4]
HeadquartersOne Temple Back East, Temple Quay, Bristol, England, BS1 6DX, United Kingdom
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
John Burke (CEO)
David McGowan (director)
ProductsMortgages, savings
ServicesFinancial services
  • Decrease £2.6m (2010)[5]
  • £81.8m (2009)[5]
Total assets£129.7m (2010)[5]
Total equity£82.2m (2010)[5]
OwnerBank of Ireland
ParentBank of Ireland UK Holdings plc[5]
WebsiteBankofIrelandUK.com/bristol-west-plc

B&W's main activity was mortgage lending for residential and commercial customers, although in 2009, its business was transferred to Bank of Ireland and it became a shell company, and stopped accepting new customers.[5]

The Bristol & West brand name has since been replaced by the Bank of Ireland brand. However, as of 2021, Bristol & West plc shares are still being publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the BWSA ticker, and globally identified under its International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) GB0000510205.[1]

History
Bristol & West former headquarters being converted into a hotel in 2006

The Bristol & West building society, registered number 2124201, was founded in 1850 (1850), originally as the "Bristol, West of England and South Wales Permanent Building Society". It offered mortgages in the Bristol and the south west of England area, and became a well-known financial services institution in the region.

By 1996, Bristol & West was the ninth largest building society in the United Kingdom,[6] with 1.1 million customers.[4]

After the Building Societies Act 1986 relaxed rules on building societies and permitted them to demutualise and convert into banks, a number of building societies did so.[7] In July 1997, Bristol & West demutualised, its shares began being publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)/[3] It was also sold to the Bank of Ireland for £600m (€882m), becoming a UK division of the Bank of Ireland, but maintaining its operations and branch network under the existing Bristol & West brand identity.[6][8]

In December 2003, the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) fined the Bank of Ireland owned Bristol & West subsidiary "Chase de Vere Financial Solutions" for the "approval and issue of a misleading direct offer promotion".[9]

In 2005, eight years after its purchase, the Bank of Ireland sold its Bristol & West plc savings and investment business to the Britannia Building Society for £150 million. The deal also included Bristol & West's 97 branches, as well as its direct savings business.[2][8][10] The sale did not include the Bristol & West brand name, which was retained by the Bank of Ireland.[10] Existing Bristol & West account holders were transferred to a Britannia-branded product,[2] and all branches assumed the Britannia brand identity.[10]

The Bank of Ireland continued to offer B&W mortgages to intermediaries,[10] packagers, and direct customers, through the Bristol & West brand, at its main processing centres in Bristol and Solihull. That meant the closure of a number of smaller mortgage processing centres throughout the country. In 2008, the half-year profit from the mortgage business was £52 million.[11]

Following the financial crisis of 2007–08, the Bristol & West bank suffered large losses and, as a result, the Bank of Ireland took the decision to limit mortgage lending.

On 8 January 2009, the Bank of Ireland announced to the stock market that it would close its Solihull and Reading processing centres (the Reading Centre processed Bank of Ireland mortgages only) and, as of 9 January 2009, Bristol & West mortgages would cease accepting new customers, though the brand would continue for existing mortgage customers.[8][11] The Bank of Ireland then only offered residential mortgages in the UK through the Post Office Money brand[8] and through their own brand in Northern Ireland.

In June 2023, the Bank of Ireland decided to redeem the outstanding Bristol & West preference shares and liquidate Bristol & West plc.[4]

Arms
Coat of arms of Bristol and West Building Society
Notes
Granted 25 February 1939[12]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours in front of two arms embowed in saltire the hand to the dexter holding a round shield and that to the sinister three sprigs of thrift a rock all Proper.
Escutcheon
Per chevron Sable and Gules in chief a balance Or and in base a castle triple towered Argent.
Motto
Security through thrift

References
  1. "Bristol & West plc BWSA stock". www.LondonStockExchange.com. London Stock Exchange (LSE). Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. Osborne, Hilary (24 May 2005). "Britannia to acquire Bristol & West". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "Bristol & West plc BWSA our story". www.LondonStockExchange.com. London Stock Exchange (LSE). Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  4. Mulligan, John (22 June 2023). "UK's Bristol & West building society liquidated by Bank of Ireland". The Irish Independent. Dublin. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  5. "Bristol & West plc – Interim Management Report for the six month period to 30 September 2010" (PDF). www.Bristol-West.co.uk. Bristol & West plc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  6. "Bristol & West goes to Bank of Ireland for £600m". www.Independent.co.uk. The Independent. 15 April 1996. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  7. Heffernan, Shelagh (March 2003). "The Effect of UK Building Society Conversion on Pricing Behaviour" (PDF). City of London: Faculty of Finance, CASS Business School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
  8. Brignall, Miles (10 January 2009). "After 158 years, the end is nigh for Bristol & West". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  9. "Chase de Vere fined 165,000 over misleading precipice and high income bond promotion". Financial Services Authority. Archived from the original on 6 April 2005. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  10. Treanor, Jill (25 May 2005). "Bristol & West to be a building society again". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  11. Daley, James (10 January 2009). "Bristol & West closes to new business after over 150 years of trading". The Independent. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  12. "Bristol and West Building Society". Heraldry-Wiki.com. Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
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