Cheltenham & Gloucester

Cheltenham & Gloucester plc (C&G) was a mortgage and savings provider in the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. C&G specialises in mortgages and savings products. Previously, C&G was a building society, the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society. Its headquarters were in Barnwood, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. C&G was closed to new mortgage[1] and savings business on 9 September 2013.

Cheltenham & Gloucester plc
C&G
Subsidiary undertaking
IndustryFinance and insurance
FoundedCheltenham, United Kingdom (1850 (1850))
Headquarters
Barnwood, Gloucestershire
,
United Kingdom
Area served
ProductsFinancial services
ParentLloyds Banking Group
Websitewww.cheltglos.co.uk

The branch network of Cheltenham & Gloucester was transferred to the newly established TSB Bank plc in September 2013, as part of a divestment of a significant portion of the Lloyds TSB business by Lloyds Banking Group.[2] C&G branches were rebranded under the TSB brand along with a number of Lloyds TSB branches in England and Wales. Some C&G savings accounts and mortgages were also transferred to the new TSB Bank at that time; others remained with C&G.

In April 2017, all remaining mortgage administration was transferred to Lloyds Bank and rebranded[3] and the only remaining products were legacy savings accounts, with the last remaining C&G Fixed Rate Cash ISAs maturing in 2017.

History
Headquarters of Cheltenham & Gloucester at Barnwood, Gloucestershire

C&G can trace its roots back to the Cheltenham and Gloucestershire Permanent Mutual Benefit Building and Investment Association. Its inaugural meeting, held at the Belle Vue Hotel, Cheltenham took place on 7 August 1850, and the society shortened its name to Cheltenham and Gloucestershire Benefit Building Society. The first President of the society was James Downing, of Cheltenham. Downing believed in a philosophy whereupon it was a citizen's duty to help other citizens and this was a driving force for him in helping the poor to achieve stability through home ownership. Even so, the Society was run rather shrewdly, and upon Downing's death in 1868, it had an annual income of £37,000.[4]

At first the Society was based in Cheltenham; its first Gloucester branch opened in 1896. Over the next 80 years, it expanded throughout the UK,[5] opening its 100th branch in Pershore in 1979. During the 1980s, C&G acquired several smaller building societies, as consolidation of the sector intensified. C&G's headquarters were at Cheltenham House in central Cheltenham until their move to Barnwood in 1989.[6] The then building society had commissioned a sculpture by British artist Barbara Hepworth, "Theme and Variations",[7] which can still be seen displayed on the front of Cheltenham House.

In 1984 Cotswold Building Society transferred its undertakings to C&G. This was followed by the Waltham Abbey in 1985, the Colchester, the London Permanent and the Cardiff in 1987, the Essex Equitable and the Bolton in 1988, the Bury St Edmunds in 1989, the Bedford, the Guardian, the Peckham and the Walthamstow in 1990, the Portsmouth and the Bedford Crown in 1991, and the Mid-Sussex in 1992.[8]

In 1993 C&G merged with the Heart of England Building Society. By the mid 1990s it had taken over the Portsmouth, Guardian, Peckham, Walthamstow, Cardiff, Colchester, London Permanent, Bolton, Bury St Edmunds and Essex Equitable building societies.[9]

C&G converted to a bank in 1995,[10] as result of a takeover approach from Lloyds TSB. This involved the demutualisation of the society, and generated a windfall payment to its members.

In 2007 C&G was restructured and closed 31 of its 195 branches, resulting in the loss of 315 jobs.[11] At the same time, the savings liabilities of Cheltenham & Gloucester plc were transferred to C&G Savings, a division of the then Lloyds TSB Bank plc. The lender for C&G mortgages also changed to Lloyds TSB Bank plc, whilst Cheltenham & Gloucester plc remained in charge of designing and administering the mortgages.

A former branch of the C&G in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire - rebranded TSB in September 2013

On 9 June 2009, it was reported that Lloyds Banking Group would close Cheltenham & Gloucester's 164 branches in November of that year, at the cost of around 1,660 jobs.[12] Lloyds stated that the C&G brand name would be retained for mortgages and savings, while customers could use any branch of Lloyds TSB to access their accounts.[13] However, on 19 August 2009, Lloyds announced that it would review this decision.[14]

Mergers and acquisitions

The following societies either merged with or were acquired by C&G:[15][16]

Building societyDate merged/
acquired
SurreyDec 1943
Permanent Salopian BenefitApr 1948
Equitable BenefitJul 1951
Yeovil & Society, South SomersetSep 1960
Vale of EveshamDec 1961
Hitchin Mutual PermanentJun 1971
SmethwickDec 1973
Tewkesbury & DistrictOct 1974
North LondonDec 1976
CotswoldJan 1984
Waltham AbbeyJul 1985
ColchesterJun 1987
London PermanentAug 1987
CardiffOct 1987
Essex EquitableMar 1988
BoltonOct 1988
Bury St EdmundsJan 1989
BedfordApr 1990
GuardianApr 1990
PeckhamJun 1990
WalthamstowOct 1990
PortsmouthJun 1991
Bedford CrownJul 1991
Mid SussexAug 1992
Heart of EnglandOct 1993

Staff Association

C&G had its own staff association, which represented members of staff in the building society for collective bargaining purposes and individual members of the staff association for disciplinary and grievance purposes. In 2004 the staff association merged with the trade union Amicus, retaining its own 'C&GSA' branding until Amicus merged with the TGWU in 2007 to form Unite.[17]

Project Verde
Before rebranding
After rebranding

Speculation had arisen that Lloyds was to sell off C&G, after the European Commission demanded in late 2009 that both it and Royal Bank of Scotland sell off existing branches in order to allay competition concerns, following their respective bail-outs by the UK government.[18] Lloyds announced the creation of Project Verde in November 2009.[19]

In July 2012, it was announced that all of the C&G branches, along with some Lloyds TSB branches, would be sold to The Co-operative Bank and rebranded as TSB.[20][21] However, in April 2013 the Co-operative Bank decided not to proceed with the acquisition, citing the economic downturn and tougher regulatory environment imposed on banks. Lloyds Banking Group confirmed that the rebranding to TSB would still take place.[22] The new TSB Bank was launched on 9 September 2013 and all Cheltenham & Gloucester branches were rebranded TSB on this date. The new bank was divested from Lloyds Banking Group in 2014 through a stock market flotation, and was acquired by Sabadell Group in July 2015.

On 13 June 2013 the Treasury Select Committee announced an inquiry into the required divestment of the Verde branches and the collapsed bid from The Co-operative Bank.[23] The inquiry published its final report in October 2014.[24]

Closure

At the formation of the new TSB Bank, C&G no longer had any branches, and was closed to new business. Retained C&G mortgages were administered by Cheltenham and Gloucester plc and provided by Lloyds Bank plc. Retained savings accounts were held with C&G Savings, a trading division of Lloyds Bank plc.[25] Following the transfer of all C&G branches to TSB Bank plc, C&G products could be serviced at Lloyds Bank branches, by phone or by post.[26] By April 2017, all remaining mortgage administration had been transferred to Lloyds Bank and rebranded[27] and the only remaining products were legacy savings accounts, with the last remaining C&G Fixed Rate Cash ISAs maturing in 2017.

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See also

References
  1. "How to apply". Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  2. "TSB is back on the high street". Cheltglos.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  3. "Important information about your Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) mortgage". Cheltglos.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  4. Scott, Craig (2000). Cheltenham & Gloucester A tradition of change. Cheltenham & Gloucester plc. pp. 11–12.
  5. "Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society". Lloyds Banking Group. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. "The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo - 23/06/2009 digital edition". Edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  7. "Theme and Variations". Barbara Hepworth. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  8. Rex, Simon (1 July 2013). "Building society mergers and conversions since 1980". Building Societies Association. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  9. Goldsmith, Vivien (6 May 1993). "C&G to merge with Heart of England". The Independent. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  10. The C&G: A brief history (9 June 2009). "Gloucestershire - Credit Crunch - The C&G: A brief history". BBC. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  11. Ferreira-Marques, Clara (8 August 2007). "UK's Lloyds TSB cuts jobs as 31 C&G branches close". Reuters. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  12. Jones, Alan (9 June 2009). "Lloyds branded a 'disgrace' for C&G branch closures - Business News - Business". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  13. "Business | Lloyds closing all C&G branches". BBC News. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  14. "Business | Lloyds to 'review' closure of C&G". BBC News. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  15. "Extract from BSA Yearbook 2013/14 - Mergers and Name Changes" (PDF). Building Societies Association. 4 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  16. "Cheltenham & Gloucester PLC History". FundingUniverse. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  17. "Finance and Legal - history". Unite the Union. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  18. "Business | RBS and Lloyds set for sell-offs". BBC News. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  19. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. "BBC News - Q&A: Co-op buys Lloyds TSB branches". Bbc.co.uk. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  22. "Lloyds' branch sale to Co-op falls through". BBC News. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  23. "Inquiry into Project Verde set to begin". Insolvency News. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  24. "Project Verde". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  25. "Mortgages and savings from Cheltenham & Gloucester | C&G". Cheltglos.co.uk. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  26. "How you contact us". Cheltglos.co.uk. 9 September 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  27. "Important information about your Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) mortgage". Cheltglos.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
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