Whitecap Consulting, in collaboration with the Building Societies Association (BSA) and a group of key stakeholders, has today launched the Building Societies Report 2025, providing a comprehensive analysis of the strategic landscape facing the building society sector as it looks ahead to 2030 and beyond. The report was launched at an event hosted at Leeds Building Society’s head office, attended by representatives from building societies and key industry stakeholders.
Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the UK’s first building society and the United Nations’ Year of the Cooperative, the report has been published the week before the BSA’s annual conference, which takes place in Birmingham on 7th and 8th May. It follows a previous report published by Whitecap in 2021.
The new report is launched against a backdrop of the government expressing support for the mutual sector, including stating its ambition to double its size. The building society sector is already well on course to achieve this, having experienced strong growth in recent years.
The key findings of the research include:
- Continued growth is a key priority for building societies, partly due to market opportunity, but also due to increasing regulatory costs they are facing.
- The building society sector needs to continue to lobby for fair and proportionate regulation, to enable it to compete on a level playing field in highly competitive mortgages and savings markets.
- Investment in technology is an ongoing focus. Artificial intelligence was the most prominent tech theme in the research, although mobile platforms and apps are viewed as the top priority for technology investment over the next five years.
- Building societies are committed to the broker market, with over 60% of survey respondents identifying investment in intermediary-facing digital capabilities as a key focus area in the next 5 years.
- 50% of building society CEOs have changed since 2021, with 4 of the top 10 building societies now led by female CEOs, reflecting enhanced diversity in the sector.
Robin Fieth, Chief Executive Officer of the Building Societies Association, said:
“Digital investment combined with a focus on community continue to be important for our sector as members reassess not just their technology stack but the evolution of systems, in particular AI.
“Societies are continuing to evolve their savings and mortgage propositions to better deliver solutions that provide value and continue to help a broad range of customers navigate their way through the housing market.
The research from Whitecap highlights the additional burden the sector often faces due to a lack of proportionality in regulation and challenges in accessing capital for growth. With the right support and investment, building societies will continue to grow and provide financial support to savers and borrowers for the next 250 years.”
Richard Coates, Managing Director at Whitecap Consulting, said:
“Over recent years we have worked extensively in the building society sector across topics including business strategy, proposition, ecommerce, technology and target operating model. As a result, we are acutely aware of the unique characteristics and strengths of mutual organisations and the issues they face. This new report provides a positive update on the development and modernisation of the building society sector and highlights key areas of focus in relation to the core markets of mortgages and savings, as well as discussing the future of branches, green finance, diversification, collaboration, and of course technology. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners and participants, as well as the Whitecap team who have worked hard on this project.”
Tim Bowen, CEO at Mutual Vision, said:
“Everyone at Mutual Vision is excited to see the 2025 Building Societies Report being launched. 2025 has the potential to be a defining year for mutuals and an opportunity to build a future that is as rich as their past. If building societies, co-operatives and credit unions can compete with the banks and neobanks on tech and customer experience, they will always win the other half of the battle — competing on purpose. This report provides crucial insights to help mutuals strengthen and grow”
Chris Little, Chief Revenue Officer at Finova, said:
“As a technology partner to a wide range of UK lenders including building societies, we’re proud to support this important report from Whitecap Consulting. The findings reflect what we’re seeing across the sector—an ambitious drive for digital transformation, with a clear focus on intermediary engagement, AI innovation, and mobile-first customer experiences. Building societies play a critical role in the UK’s financial ecosystem, and we’re excited to help them navigate the next chapter through modern, scalable origination and servicing technology. This report marks a timely contribution to the strategic dialogue shaping the sector’s future.”
The report is the result of a programme of research undertaken by the Whitecap team over recent months, broken down across strategic themes which were explored via desk research, data analysis, CEO interviews with 25 of the 42 building societies, an online survey, and additional industry stakeholder engagement. The strategic themes included topics such as strategy, mutuality, mortgages, savings, branches, technology, green finance, the future of homebuying, diversification, collaboration, regulation, policy and risk.
The report has been produced with the support of sector sponsors including: BJSS, Digilytics, finova, FintechOS, FIS, GDS Link, Mambu, Mast, Monument Technology, Mutual Vision, MQube, nCino, Ohpen, PEXA, Phoebus, RSM UK, SBS, Target Group, Temenos , Unblu, Unisys, and Vilja Solutions.
Download the report here
