Leek United Building Society
 | |
| Building Society (Mutual) | |
| Industry | Banking and Financial Services |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Headquarters | Leek, Staffordshire, England, UK |
| Products |
Savings, Mortgages, Investments, Loans, Insurance |
£3.0 million GBP (December 2007),  48.4% on 2006 | |
| Total assets |
£800 million GBP (December 2007), 7.9% on 2006 |
| Website | www.leekunited.co.uk |
The Leek United Building Society is a building society based in Leek, Staffordshire, England. It is the 18th largest in the UK based on total assets of £735 million at 1 February 2011.[1] The Society has 12 branches across Staffordshire. It is a member of the Building Societies Association.
History
The Society was established as the Leek United Permanent Benefit Building Society in 1863. In 1919, it changed its name to Leek United & Midlands Building Society, and then to Leek United Building Society in 1990. Unlike many of the other UK building societies, the Leek United has never grown through acquisition or merger.[2]
In 1999, Leek United was the target of a hostile takeover bid by an Edinburgh based financial group, Murray Financial Corporation, which tabled a £30.5 million bid for the Society.[3] Although the Board rejected the offer, Murray Financial gained the approval of 100 of the Society's members to call a special general meeting to consider the bid. It was estimated that each of the Leek's 60,000 members could gain an £800 windfall from the sale of the Society. However the bid failed when the Society's members rejected the offer by an almost three to one ratio.[4]