Penrith Building Society

What Penrith Building Society does

Penrith Building Society is a mutual, member-owned building society founded in 1877 and headquartered in a single branch at 7 King Street, Penrith, Cumbria. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Reg No 164473), with eligible deposits protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS. The Society serves both retail savers and mortgage borrowers across England, Scotland and Wales, with a particular Heartland focus on Cumbria and Northern Lancashire (CA and LA postcodes).

The Society operates a two-pillar product model. Its savings catalogue spans over 25 products — instant access, notice accounts (30/60/90-day), fixed rate bonds and ISAs (1 and 2-year), junior savers, regular savers, business/charity accounts, and affinity products supporting local causes such as Eden Valley Hospice and the Penrith & District Red Squirrel Group. Its mortgage book is differentiated by fully manual underwriting without automated credit scoring, supporting specialist use cases including first-time buyer, homemover, remortgage, self-build, buy-to-let, holiday let, multi-unit, expat (with foreign currency income), and Special Situations lending for applicants with complex credit histories. Distribution runs through the Penrith branch, the Penrith Online portal, postal applications, and an Intermediaries Hub for mortgage brokers and IFAs.

The revenue model derives primarily from net interest spread between retail deposit funding and mortgage lending, supplemented by mortgage application and product fees (£0–£1,499). A wholly-owned subsidiary, Cumbria Mortgage Centre Limited, operates as an appointed representative of Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited to provide regulated mortgage advice within the ecosystem. As a non-profit mutual, surpluses are retained for member benefit rather than distributed to external shareholders, and the Society does not publicly disclose financial results.

Name

Penrith Building Society

Legal name

Penrith Building Society

Website

https://penrithbs.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1877

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Penrith Building Society is a member-owned, mutual building society founded in 1877, operating from Penrith, Cumbria. It offers UK retail savers a broad savings catalogue and provides specialist, manually underwritten mortgages — including Heartland, expat, self-build and special-situation lending — across England, Scotland and Wales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mutual Building Society Retail Banking

NAICS

Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)

SIC

Savings Institutions, Not Federally Chartered (6036)

akta.pro primary industry

Building Societies (Mutual Mortgage/Retail Banks) (FSABAEAE)

Keywords

• Retail savings accounts
• Residential mortgage lending
• Mutual building society
• ISA savings products
• Buy-to-let mortgages

Headquarters

HQ city

Penrith

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Mortgage Lending: Interest income from residential and buy-to-let mortgages, including fixed rate, discounted, and variable rate products. Generates revenue through interest rate spreads and product fees on certain mortgage products.
2. Savings Deposits: Retail savings deposits including instant access, fixed rate bonds, ISAs, and regular savings accounts. Revenue generated through deploying deposits in mortgage lending at favorable spreads.
3. Mortgage Product Fees: Certain mortgage products include application fees (£0-£999) and product fees (£999-£1,499) that are payable upfront or can be added to the loan.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Penrith Building Society is a UK mutual building society that accepts retail savings deposits from individual members and lends those funds as residential and buy-to-let mortgages. It offers a full range of savings products (instant access, ISAs, fixed rate bonds, notice accounts, junior and business accounts) alongside specialist mortgage products including first-time buyer, expat, self-build, buy-to-let, holiday let, multi-unit and special situations lending, served through a single Penrith branch, an online portal and a network of mortgage intermediaries.

Product overview

Penrith Building Society offers a dual-core product portfolio consisting of savings accounts and mortgages. The savings range includes over 25 products spanning instant access accounts, notice accounts (30/60/90 day), fixed rate bonds and ISAs (1 and 2 year terms), regular savers, junior/children's accounts, business accounts, and affinity accounts supporting local charities. The mortgage portfolio covers residential purchase and remortgage products available in Heartland (Cumbria and Northern Lancashire) and nationally, including specialist products for first-time buyers, buy-to-let, holiday lets, self-build/renovation, expats with foreign currency income, multi-unit properties, and applicants with complex financial circumstances. The Society operates through its Penrith branch, an online platform (Penrith Online), and an intermediary portal for mortgage brokers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Savings Accounts

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cumbria Mortgage Centre LimitedcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCumbria Mortgage Centre Limited is a subsidiary of Penrith Building Society and appointed representative of Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited. Provides mortgage advice services to customers, operating under FCA regulation as part of the society's service ecosystem.
• Mortgage Advice Bureau LimitedcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerParent company for Cumbria Mortgage Centre Limited. Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited and Mortgage Advice Bureau (Derby) Limited are authorised and regulated by the FCA. This partnership provides the regulatory framework through which mortgage advice is delivered to Penrith Building Society customers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Furness Building Society: Mutual building society headquartered in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, providing residential mortgages, buy-to-let, and savings products with a similar Heartland focus on Cumbria and North Lancashire. Directly comparable in scale, mutual structure, and regional specialization.
• Newcastle Building Society: Regional mutual building society in North East England offering savings, mortgages, and specialist products with similar mutual values and regional focus. Comparable peer in business model and customer base, serving similar demographic segments with branch-based and intermediary distribution.
• Cumberland Building Society: Direct regional peer and fellow Cumbria-headquartered mutual building society offering residential mortgages, savings, and a branch network across North West England. Cumberland is a comparable mutual competing in overlapping geographies and customer segments, though at a larger scale.
• Skipton Building Society: One of the UK's larger building societies offering a full range of savings and mortgage products including specialist segments like expat and self-build mortgages. Comparable in product range and mutual model, though at materially larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Bath Building Society: Smaller UK building society offering savings and mortgages with personal service and a branch network. Comparable in scale, mutual ownership structure, and emphasis on manual underwriting and complex cases, though operating in a different regional footprint.
• Principality Building Society: Welsh mutual building society offering residential mortgages, buy-to-let, and savings products with a strong intermediary channel. Comparable in mutual ownership structure and product mix, though larger scale and different regional focus.
• Coventry Building Society: Major UK building society offering savings and mortgages nationally, including through intermediary channels. Comparable mutual peer operating in the same UK mortgage and savings market, with substantially larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Broad incumbents

• Yorkshire Building Society: One of the UK's largest building societies with extensive branch network and intermediary mortgage lending across multiple regions. Comparable mutual peer in core savings and mortgage products, with substantially broader scale and product range.
• Nationwide Building Society: The UK's largest building society and dominant mutual lender offering comprehensive mortgage and savings products nationally. Comparable in mutual ownership and core business model, but at vastly larger scale with national brand recognition.

Emerging players

• Ecology Building Society: UK building society specializing in environmentally sustainable mortgages and ethical savings. Smaller mutual peer with niche specialization, comparable to Penrith's specialist segment focus, though differentiated by environmental rather than geographic or borrower specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pbs_broker
• Facebookfacebook.com/penrithbuildingsociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/penrith-building-society

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Penrith Building Society