Established in 1870 in Macclesfield, the Cheshire was one of the first permanent societies. The Society is the product of thirteen mergers, which began in 1969 when the Cheshire merged with the Northwich Building Society. This was followed by a series of smaller mergers through the 1970s and 1980s. The branch network now extends throughout the North West and includes 49 building society branches and 12 property service branches. Although a regionally based society, the Cheshire operated nationally following the launch of Internet and intermediary sales channels as well as a customer contact centre located in Macclesfield. . On 8 September 2008, it was announced that the Cheshire, along with the Derbyshire Building Society, had agreed to a merger with the Nationwide Building Society, the largest such institution. The merger was borne out of increasing fears about the financial security of both the Derbyshire and the Cheshire societies with the former expected to post half-yearly losses of £17 million and the latter posting losses of £10.5 million. As a result of those projected losses, no windfall payments were to be made to savers of the smaller societies. Unusually, there was no ballot of members on the proposition, after a special resolution under the Building Societies Act enabling a faster merger. The deal was concluded by the end of 2008 with agreement from the Financial Services Authority and the Office of Fair Trading. The Nationwide initially kept the separate identities of the two societies. The merger was officially completed on 15 December 2008, with the Cheshire's website stating it as a trading division of the Nationwide Building Society. Following the review in Q2 2010, it was announced that the brand was to be continued but the head office in Macclesfield was to be closed with most staff losing their jobs. In May 2013, it was announced that the Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Dunfermline brands would be phased out over two years, and branches either rebranded under the Nationwide brand or closed.
Sponsorship
Cheshire building society sponsored Granada Action on ITV, Manchester's charity of transport for sick children, during 2000-2004. The Cheshire building society also became the official club sponsorship for Macclesfield Town FC.
