Proposed Merger

Press Release 13 December 2012

Nottingham Building Society & Shepshed Building Society

announce proposed merger

The Boards of Directors of Nottingham Building Society (The Nottingham) and Shepshed Building Society (The Shepshed) have agreed in principle that the two societies should merge. Subject to approval by the members of The Shepshed and confirmation by the Financial Services Authority, the merger is expected to be effective from 1 July 2013.

Although some details are still to be finalised, the key points are:

·; Following the merger and planned systems integration, members of The Shepshed will have access to the full range of products and services offered by The Nottingham and will be able to use The Nottingham's 31 branches in Nottinghamshire and the surrounding area.

·; The Shepshed's three branches will remain open for a minimum of three years and following the planned systems integration will also provide existing members of The Nottingham with 3 more branches to access their range of services.

·; There will be no compulsory redundancies as a direct result of the merger. Staff who currently work in The Shepshed's branches will continue in their roles. 

·; Following the merger and planned systems integration, the intention is to run a single head office from central Nottingham. The experience and knowledge of the Shepshed staff is valued, and The Nottingham has committed to offering them all an alternative role within the enlarged society. 

·; No bonuses will be payable to members of either society arising from the merger.

·; The enlarged society will be called Nottingham Building Society and will continue to be run as an independent, mutually owned business, run entirely for the benefit of members.

Commenting on the proposed merger, David Marlow, Chief Executive of The Nottingham, said "The Shepshed shares many of the same values we do. As member owned organisations we have a clear and simple purpose. We exist to serve the needs of current and future members, and to support the communities in which we operate. The Nottingham has been doing this successfully since 1849 and continues to build on our recent strong results."

"The Board of The Shepshed believe that their members' interests will be best served by being part of a larger society. We are looking to forward to giving their members access to our full range of products and services." 

"We believe that it is important that there are strong regional building societies offering a real alternative to the bigger banks. The proposed merger with The Shepshed will allow us to bring our own brand of high quality customer service, provided by local staff with local knowledge to a greater number of High Streets in our heartland."

Gini Bolton, Chairman of The Shepshed, said, "We have selected The Nottingham as our partner as it is the optimum choice. The Nottingham is the UK's 9th largest Society with a head office close to our branch operating area and has the financial strength associated with a large mutual building society to provide assurance to our members. The merger will ensure that members of The Shepshed are able to continue to benefit from membership of an independent mutual building society as well as being able to access a broad range of mortgage and savings products, independent financial advice, whole of market mortgage advice and local estate agency services. The Directors of Shepshed Building Society strongly encourage the Society's members to vote in favour of the merger."

ENDS

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Peter Stanhope | Communications Manager | The Nottingham

Telephone: 0115 956 4264 | Mobile: 07920 523303

Email: [email protected]

OR

MIKE MCDERMOTT | Senior Director | Shepshed Building Society

Telephone: 01509 822000 | Mobile: 07775 861420

Email: [email protected]

Notes to Editors

1. Established in 1849, The Nottingham is now the ninth largest Building Society in the UK with over 200,000 members and assets of £2.4bn operating across the UK with branches throughout Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The Nottingham offers a broad range of building society services such as mortgages and savings as well as independent financial planning, whole of market mortgage advice and local estate agency services through its network of 31 branches, head office and intermediary channels.

2. Shepshed Building Society, which was established in 1879 has its head office in Shepshed, Leicestershire, with branches in Shepshed, Loughborough and Ruddington. The Shepshed offers a broad range of mortgage and savings products through its branch network and intermediary channels. At the end of 2011 The Shepshed had total assets of £93 million and has around 7,000 members.

3. The merger process is subject to the provisions of the Building Societies Act 1986. Shepshed members are expected to receive full details of the merger proposal during March 2013 and will be asked to approve the merger at its Annual General Meeting to be held in April 2013. Nottingham Building Society has applied to the Financial Services Authority for consent to approve the merger by Board resolution.