Stroud & Swindon announces Coventry merger

23 March 2010 9:57 am | By Paul Thomas

The two societies have been in talks about a possible merger for a few weeks, with Stroud & Swindon’s board announcing today that they had come to an agreement.

The merger is expected to become effective on September 1, subject to approval by Stroud & Swindon’s members and the FSA. A meeting where members can vote on the merger will be held on June 16.

The enlarged society will have assets of over £21bn, 91 branches across the Midlands and south west of England, and around 1.5m members.

Stroud & Swindon’s name will be retained and operated as a distinct brand, with no planned redundancies for Stroud branch staff. Stroud & Swindon sales and marketing director Linda Will says no decision has yet been made on the societies’ broker brands.

David Harding and David Stewart, currently chairman and chief executive respectively of Coventry, will become chairman and chief executive of the enlarged society. Glyn Smith, a director of Stroud & Swindon, will join the board at Coventry. The appointments are subject to FSA approval.

Stroud & Swindon chief executive John Sutherland, who was brought in to oversee a merger of the society, says: “Today’s announcement is excellent news for Stroud & Swindon members who have the opportunity to join one of the UK’s strongest and most profitable building societies. In considering a number of options, we believe that Coventry’s commitment to long term member value, fairness, strategic prudence and local communities, provides Stroud & Swindon’s members with the best possible future. We strongly recommend Stroud & Swindon’s members to vote in favour of the merger.”

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