Leeds Permanent Building Society (1848-1995)
Early days
Cellar dwelling Leeds, late 19th century
In the mid 19th century, Leeds was one of Britain's leading industrial towns. Located on the edge of the West Yorkshire coalfields, with connections to Hull in the east and Liverpool on the west, the town grew rapidly, its population swelling by two thirds in 50 years.
Not surprisingly, this sudden influx of people led to overcrowded and insanitary housing conditions. Many people lived, worked and slept in a single room.
First Leeds board meeting, 1848
One response was to set up a building society, where working men clubbed together to buy land and build houses. The Leeds Building and Investment Society was formed in 1846. It was a 'terminating' society, which pooled funds, built houses for its members, and then disbanded
Demand for new housing however greatly outstripped the Society’s ability to build, and two years later the Society's trustees decided to convert to 'permanent' status. This meant that members could deposit money without being obliged to build a house. The cash they deposited would in turn be loaned to other members, who wanted to build or buy houses. The Society would thus endure for as long as its members wanted.
The 'Second Leeds'
On 8 November 1848, the new permanent Society, known as the Permanent Second Leeds Benefit Building Society, was officially founded. By the end of its first year, 1,200 members had enrolled, and £14,286 had been advanced on mortgages – nearly £700,000 today.
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Lands Lane Offices |
Park Lane Offices 1878 - 1930 |
Permanent House in the 1940s |
The Society's first offices were located in Exchange Buildings in Lands Lane, where business was conducted from 10am to 4pm, and also 7pm to 9pm on Tuesdays. They later moved to 32 Park Row, and then in 1876, to premises at the corner of Park Lane and Calverley, where the Society was to remain for the next 50 years.
In 1930, head office moved to newly constructed premises at 18 Park Lane – Permanent House - designed by local architect C.W. Atkinson. Permanent House was the Leeds’ home until the move to new premises in Lovell Park in 1992.
Growth and expansion
The founders of the Leeds Permanent were 'not men who let the grass grow under their feet'. Within six months, the Society had opened more than eight agencies across neighbouring towns, including Weatherby, Barnsley and Huddersfield. By the time of its tenth birthday in 1858, the Society had 3,500 members and was proudly proclaiming itself to be the largest building society in the world.
The competent management of the Society won it a high reputation at national level, and in 1871, the Society was asked to give evidence to a Royal Commission in London, which was gathering evidence on the operations of friendly societies. The Leeds was specially commended by the Commission as a model society.
Developments in the early 20th century
Sir Charles Davies, General Manager 1940-1958
By the early years of the 20th century, the Leeds had assets of almost £2 million pounds, and the first telephones and electric lighting had been installed at its head office.
The interwar years saw a period of unprecedented growth. Agents were appointed all over Britain and branch offices opened in virtually every major city, including London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.
Between 1920 and 1940, total assets increased to over £40 million, while membership increased more than ten fold to over 200,000. Sir Charles Davies, one of Leeds’ best known public figures, oversaw much of the growth and charted the future direction of the Leeds during this time.
Mergers and amalgamations
The 1940s onwards saw the Leeds involved in a series of mergers with other societies, including the London North Eastern Railway building society, the Doncaster and the Midland. The 50s and 60s also saw another push in branch expansion, with the Leeds' 100th branch opening in 1970.
Technology too was beginning to make an impact. In 1964 the board approved a research project to investigate the conversion of mechanical accounting to electronic data processing. The Society's first computer was subsequently installed in 1967.
Like many others, the Leeds later took advantage of changes brought about by the 1986 Building Societies Act, diversifying its business into share-selling, off-shore banking, estate agency and property development.
Further amalgamations were considered in the 1980s and early 1990s, but were not forthcoming. Then in 1995, the Leeds merged with the Halifax Building Society, which shortly afterwards converted to plc status.
'Gift Wrapped' Halifax and Leeds merger
Further information
• 'A survey of one hundred years, 1848-1948' (Leeds Permanent Building Society, [1948])
• 'A Personal Review of Leeds Permanent Building Society 1930 – 1980', Les Grainger (Leeds Permanent Building Society, 1985)
• 'The History of the Leeds Permanent Building Society, 1893-1993' by Michael Collins (in 'Leeds City Business 1893-1993: Essays Marking the Centenary of the Incorporation', eds. J. Chartres and K. Honeyman, Leeds University Press, 1993).
• Archival records relating to the Leeds Permanent are held by HBOS Group Archives.
• Records and artefacts relating to the Leeds Permanent are also on display in the Museum on the Mound 
at our corporate headquarters.
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