History

Our origins lie in the Provident Union Building Society established in Ramsbury, Wiltshire (1846), the Northampton Town & County Freehold Land Society, Northampton (1848) and the Southern Co-operative Permanent Building Society, London (1884).

Well over a hundred mergers later - most notably the mergers between Nationwide and Anglia building societies in 1987 and between Nationwide and Portman in 2007, we are now the UK's second largest mortgage lender and second largest savings provider. Just as significantly, we are the largest building society in the world and are committed to remaining mutual.

For some of the highlights of our proud history, see selected achievements.

For a full list of Nationwide's mergers and acquisitions, click here.