About Abbey
The history of Santander in the UK
Santander acquired Abbey in 2004. In September 2008, Santander acquired Bradford & Bingley’s savings and branch network and in October 2008, Santander acquired Alliance & Leicester. Both acquisitions were part of our growth strategy in the UK and will help us to achieve our goal - to become the best commercial bank in the UK.
On 11 January 2010 Abbey and the savings business of Bradford & Bingley became known as Santander. This will be followed later in the year by Alliance & Leicester. The move delivers a significant advantage for customers as they can now use any of 1,000 Santander branches, rising to over 1,300 by the end of 2010.
Abbey’s history
Abbey’s roots date back to 1849, when the National Freehold Land and Building Society was established. In 1944, it merged with the Abbey National Building Society to form Abbey National. Key events in Abbey’s history include:
- On 12 July 1989, Abbey was the first building society to become a plc and to be floated on the London Stock Exchange. The share price at the time was £1.30.
- In August 1996, Abbey National merged with the National and Provincial Building Society. Our branch network increased by almost 200 and we gained three million customers.
- On 26 July 2004, Abbey and Banco Santander announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition by Banco Santander of Abbey. Following shareholder approval at Abbey's and Santanders EGMs, the acquisition was formally approved by the courts and Abbey became part of the Santander Group on 12 November 2004.
- In 2008 we acquired Alliance & Leicester and the savings and branch network of Bradford & Bingley. The combined business makes us the third largest deposit taker and second largest mortgage lender in the UK.
- On 11 January 2010, Abbey rebranded to Santander.
Alliance & Leicester’s history
Alliance & Leicester Group can trace its origins back to 1852 with the formation of the Leicester Permanent Benefit Society. Key events in Alliance & Leicester’s history include:
- 1985 - Alliance Building Society merged with Leicester Building Society to form Alliance & Leicester.
- 1990 - Alliance & Leicester purchased Girobank from the Post Office.
- 2008 - 10 October - Alliance & Leicester became part of the Santander group and was delisted from the London Stock Exchange. Bradford & Bingley savings and branches’ history As at 29 September 2008 all of Bradford & Bingley's retail branches and its savings accounts were transferred to Abbey
Bradford & Bingley savings and branches’ history
- As at 29 September 2008 all of Bradford & Bingley's retail branches and its savings accounts were transferred to Abbey.
- On 11 January 2010, Bradford & Bingley savings and branches rebranded to Santander.