Skipton Building Society – A major project for the Society in the last six months has been the incorporation of the concessionary Mortgage Discount Scheme into the residential standard variable rate (SVR). The resulting SVR of 5.84% is one of the lowest on the market, offering borrowers real long-term value. Linked to this, June 2004 saw a relaunch of Skipton’s mortgage portfolio to include fixed, discounted, capped and base rate tracker rates. For savers new investment products such as the range of Pick ‘N’ Fix bonds and a branch only savings account are proving to be extremely popular and have garnered much positive press. Another successful product has been the NSPCC Mini-Cash ISA that, through the generosity of savers giving the charity 0.5% of their annual interest, has this year seen total donations reach the £1 million mark.
The Skipton Group – A number of changes have occurred aimed at continuing the development of the Group’s offerings, by focusing more on the core areas of retail financial services, administration, housing and advice. On 1 July 2004, Skipton subsidiary The Private Health Partnership Ltd acquired MLP Insurance Services, continuing its growth in the health insurance sector. Then on 16 July 2004 Skipton acquired Mutual One, a joint venture promoting a number of initiatives within the building society sector, aimed at reducing costs and improving business opportunities. By holding a majority shareholding in the company, Skipton will be helping Mutual One to maximise its growth whilst aiding other building societies.
Speaking about the results, John Goodfellow, chief executive and director, said, "I’m very pleased to report such positive financial figures for the half year, especially our strong balance sheet growth and the significant reduction in our core management expense ratio allowing us to further pass on the benefits of our efficiencies to our members”.
“The Skipton Group has been built up over a long time and with profitable subsidiaries, we are now entering the next phase – refocusing the Group’s offerings on our core areas of retail, servicing, housing and advice. For this reason we are very pleased to welcome Mutual One and MLP to the family”.
“The objective behind our growth is simple. The more the Society and its subsidiaries prosper, the greater the level of profit generated. From this comes a sound financial foundation from which the Society can continue to give members real value. This is clearly seen in our mortgage SVR, which offers one of the best rates available to borrowers, and in our interest rate margin which remains one of the lowest in the industry”.
