Building society members' votes aid charities

For every AGM vote received, the Tipton pledged to donate money to its charitable foundation. In total 2,620 votes were cast, up 9.3 per cent on last year’s turn out.

Adam Evetts, the society’s new chief executive,said: “Supporting and making a positive contribution to our local community is very important to us as a society. During 2023 we donated over £47,000 to local charities, including donations to our charitable foundation, the Black Country Food Bank and the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity."

He added: “Our community activities are something we’re very proud of, and something we plan to do a lot more of in the future."

Jeremy Cross, the society’s chairman said “We are proud of our Black Country heritage and it’s right that it’s the focus of our community and charitable activities."

In 2023, despite the challenging economic environment that saw the Bank of England increase rates five times, the Tipton delivered record mortgage lending that saw its total assets grow to more than £600 million, underpinned by strong underlying profitability.

Mr Cross told members: “The very strong set of results was achieved by focusing on delivering competitive products and excellent customer service.”

|He reminded membersthat the society’s profits are not paid to shareholders but are instead retained by the society to support future growth and investment”.

Mr Evetts also commented on the work the society had done in 2023 around ensuring the Tipton remained a great place to work, highlighting a range of events that had taken place to promote diversity and inclusion and a number of changes to colleague employment benefits aimed at supporting both mental and physical wellbeing.

“We’re already seeing the benefits of this investment in our people with our colleague 12-month turnover rate standing at just four per cent as at the end of 2023, a truly impressive achievement and something any employer would proud of," he said.

Focusing on the outlook for the future, Mr Evetts stressed: “While economic conditions have, to a degree, stabilised, we are focused on delivering another year of growth, albeit it may be challenging to match the growth levels seen in 2023 given the current level of competition in the mortgage and retail savings markets.

“We are financially strong, have a clear sense of our purpose, and will continue to take opportunities as they arise.”

Mr Cross added: “The good thing about the society being 123-years-old, is that we are an institution that has seen it all before. We can therefore look to the future with confidence”.