A celebratory mood at Dudley Building Society AGM as it marks a momentous year

Speaking at its AGM at Himley Hall, Lord Digby Jones said the society epitomised his ideal of "socially inclusive wealth creation", helping working people to save and buy their own homes since in launched in 1858.

He aslo spoke passionately about the positive outlook of the UK economy, as well as sharing his thoughts on entrepreneurship and Brexit. He highlighted the importance of businesses and the role they play in taking people on the journey with them to ensure shared success and prosperity, captured by his phrase ‘socially inclusive wealth creation’.

Lord Digby Jones said, ‘It was an absolute privilege to be a part of Dudley Building Society’s AGM. I’m a great believer in the work hard, save and invest cycle. These are the corner stones of mutuality that Dudley Building Society epitomises with its members. Building societies are a precious thing and I hope savers and borrowers from across the country continue to support them’’.

The society, which has around 35,000 members, has alread made a number of announcements in celebration of a record breaking year. Only a few weeks ago the society announced its year end results with a record number of borrowers’ mortgage needs catered for and over £70m deposited by savers in the year ended March 2018.

A pre-tax profit of £1,546,000 was reported supporting a year end total asset base of £397.4m (this has exceeded £400m since the end of the society’s financial year) and mortgage lending of over £82m.

The society has announced marking its 160th anniversary with the release of a new Society Anniversary Saver. This product celebrates the momentous journey the society has been on to reach 160 years of age and symbolises its most successful year to date. The Society Anniversary Saver offers a 1.6 per cent variable interest rate on a maximum deposit of £600 per month.

Chief executive Jeremy Wood said: "In our 160th year we are incredibly proud that the society continues to perform well and is serving members as it should with an emphasis on putting them right at the heart of the business. We will continue to strive on behalf of our members from across the country and we will continue to meet their needs for the next 160 years. We will only deliver on this promise by evolving and adapting to market challenges. It’s not only the numbers that make the headlines; it’s the way we go about delivering good value and quality service to all of our members."

There will be further activities and announcements linked to the society’s anniversary year. Anyone that would like to be informed about these announcements are encouraged to add themselves to the society mailing list via the website, or to connect with them on social media via Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.