The new city centre home of Manchester Building Society has opened following months of planning and a full-scale refurbishment of the Grade II listed building. The mutual opened the doors to its flagship King Street branch for the first time at 8am on Monday, 22 September 2025.
The new branch will provide access to a range of competitive savings and mortgage products, with market leading customer service and face-to-face financial guidance and advice open to all. The three-floor building, which has been carefully preserved during the transformation, will have one third of the total space given over to free-to-use community space, and will also be home to the Society’s Manchester colleagues.
Promising ‘better for Manchester’ the multi-million-pound, long-term investment is backed by the experience and strength of Newcastle Building Society.
That investment goes against the ongoing trend of bank branch closures in communities across the UK. The North West is in the UK’s top four worst hit regions for bank and building society branch closures. More than 700 branches have closed since 2015, leaving many with few or no options to bank locally, and struggling to access cashi.
A new team of customer advisers has been recruited, expanding the existing Manchester Building Society team. Working alongside Development Director, Deborah Walker, are branch manager Gavin Bostock and branch assistant manager Chloe Parsons. They are joined by financial adviser, Carl Shropshire, who will be offering free financial advice appointments to new and existing customers.
Andrew Haigh, chief executive for Manchester Building Society, said: “As a member-owned, place-based mutual, opening the first new Manchester Building Society branch on King Street is evidence of our serious intent and commitment to the people and communities of Greater Manchester. We believe that when it comes to making the most of your money, people value the opportunity to interact with experts face-to-face and our team will be there, six days a week, to provide that support. I couldn’t be prouder to open the branch and to mark the start of a new era for Manchester Building Society.”
Research carried out by Manchester Building Society has also revealed that people in the North West are more likely to trust their local bank or building society branch as a place they’d want to have an open conversation about money (68% v. 61% nationally). Additionally, one fifth of people in the North West say that bank and building society closures have forced them to manage more of their finances online (21% v. 17% nationally)ii.
Gavin Bostock, Manchester Building Society King Street branch manager said: “As a team we’ve been counting down the days to this moment and we’re all absolutely thrilled to be throwing open the doors of the King Street branch. Our aim is to provide a welcoming, accessible and inclusive environment where anyone can come and chat to us about their finances. The team and I are committed to doing a brilliant job for the people of Manchester and we would encourage everyone to come and visit the branch and see how we can help.”
Since announcing its commitment to Greater Manchester and its wider communities in January 2025, Manchester Building Society has launched a £100,000 community fund with Forever Manchester. It has also become a patron of EMPOWER, supporting the recently opened Salford Youth Zone with a separate £100,000 donation over four years. The aim is to build deep local relationships and provide life-changing opportunities, particularly for young people, in the city region.
This community involvement is further enhanced with the community space in the flagship King Street branch – available free of charge for local groups, whether they are society members or not. Existing members and the general public are encouraged to come in for a chat with no obligation to open an account.
