Beverley Building Society’s new Chair appointment - the first female leadership duo in its history

Beverley Building Society welcomes Karen Wint, who succeeds Stuart Purdy as the new Chair. Karen joins Society CEO, Janet Bedford, as the pair become the Beverley’s first female leadership duo in its 157-year history and one of a small, but growing number, across the UK’s building society network as a whole.

Karen, who was previously Chair of the Society’s Risk Committee and a Member of the Audit and Compliance Committee, brings with her 30 years’ experience in the mutual sector and is passionate about driving forward the organisation. Karen said:

“I’m honoured to have been selected as Chair of the Beverley’s Board and proud to be part of another step forward for gender equality. I’d like to thank Stuart for his exceptional service and contribution, which has created a solid foundation from which to build on. I’m looking forward to working closely with Janet and the rest of the Board to further strengthen our reputation as an innovative mutual, that offers great value savings and mortgage products, underpinned by outstanding service and a well-established community presence.

She added: “The Society’s strong capital position and its willingness to embrace change feeds into an ambitious growth strategy for the Society and I’m excited to be part of this journey.”

Under the leadership of Janet Bedford, in her first year as CEO, the Beverley continues to remain financially resilient and has once again delivered a strong performance for 2022. The Society reported healthy pre-tax profits of £759,000 (an increase on £756,000 in 2021), whilst undertaking high levels of investment in people, technology and premise refurbishment, to enable future growth.

As part of a strategic plan to drive its mortgage proposition to significantly higher levels, the Society increased new mortgage lending to £35M last year (compared to £19M in 2021), which represented no less than an 80% growth. A particularly impressive set of results, when you consider it’s set against the backdrop of one of the most politically and economically volatile years the UK has seen in decades.

To further saving benefit members, a new 45-day notice account has been launched recently with a higher rate of return, which is proving to be extremely popular with new and existing customers alike.

Janet Bedford concluded: “This represents a uniquely exciting time for the Society and, as well as adding my sincere thanks to Stuart for his remarkable guidance over the last few years, I’d like to congratulate Karen in achieving the position of Board Chair. She is a worthy successor to Stuart and an invaluable asset to the business and my hope is that our new leadership combination inspires other women in our industry to aim high.

“I’m also hugely proud that, in my first year leading the Beverley, we have worked exceptionally hard as a team to deliver such significant results in a challenging environment, but as importantly, as reinforced by our feedback, an exceptional level of customer satisfaction. I’m confident that we will continue to develop highly competitive mortgage and savings propositions and expand our presence as the building society of choice in the East Riding and beyond.