The Tipton & Coseley Building Society reports 2025 financial results

Highlights from the year include:

• Gross mortgage lending of £107m (2024: £120m). Volumes remained strong, with new business lending consciously constrained while the Society implemented a bespoke online application portal primarily for brokers
• £53m added in retail savings deposits. Total savings balances reached a record level of £577m (2024: £524m)
• The Society’s commitment to delivering value to savers resulted in members receiving rates 1.25% above the market average, equivalent to £6.9m in additional interest
• Profit before tax of £1.2m (2024: £2.3m)
• Opened a fifth branch in Codsall, South Staffordshire
• Initiation of ‘Tipton Tomorrow’, a multi-year transformation plan
• Combined charitable donations of £55,000 to causes including Black Country Foodbank, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and White House Cancer Support. Each year, the Society pledges to contribute up to five per cent of profit before tax back into the community
• An estimated 240 hours spent by colleagues carrying out voluntary work.

Adam Evetts, Chief Executive, commented: 

Despite operating in a highly competitive market, we have achieved good results, while commencing ambitious plans for the Society’s future.

Financial performance remained robust, though lower than recorded in recent years which had been impacted by the rising Bank Rate environment. This has now abated as interest rates return to more normal levels.

We have maintained our focus on providing products and services that customers truly value, while carefully managing our net interest margin, improving operational efficiency and keeping tight control over our cost base.

Importantly, we have started delivery of a substantial transformation plan, Tipton Tomorrow, designed to modernise how we work and help us adapt to changing customer needs. 

The first steps involved developing a new mortgage origination platform to streamline our underwriting practices. Once in use, the platform will ensure high levels of customer service, reduce our application to offer times and create capacity for future growth.

This project accounts for the slight reduction in lending volumes during 2025. We temporarily scaled back new lending to protect service standards so teams could focus on delivering such a key infrastructure change. 

Tipton Tomorrow progresses into 2026 and beyond, encompassing our IT estate, business processes and branch network. It will see us create modern retail and working environments, starting with our Tipton head office which is undergoing a full renovation.

Competition in the sector remains intense, particularly for savings. Nevertheless, our attractive rates helped us retain existing balances and welcome many new savers. We also extended our product range to feature business savings accounts and joined a deposit aggregator platform, connecting us to people who might not traditionally save with the Tipton.

The trend of mainstream banks withdrawing from the high street continues, however we remain committed to providing branch-based services for our customers. We are delighted to have expanded into Codsall, our first new branch location for over 30 years. 

This is a further illustration of our commitment to helping local communities, ensuring access to vital facilities, and offering financial contributions and volunteer support to charities and groups active in those areas. 

We are proud of our achievements and look forward to a milestone year in 2026, when we will celebrate the Tipton’s 125th anniversary. Our strategy is defined, built around a clear vision and purpose, so we can continue to thrive as an independent building society, firmly rooted in the Black Country.