The Cumberland Building Society has invested £26.3 million in its core technology platform transformation in the year to March, as part of a total investment of £80 million to £100 million. This significant capital expenditure is designed to equip the Society with a modern and resilient, cloud-based banking platform, which is due to go live during 2027. The scale of this investment, one of the largest ever made by a Cumbria-based business, resulted in a statutory pre-tax loss of £12.2 million for the period.

Operating profit, which excludes transformation costs, was £10.6 million. Chair Jackie Arnold noted that the loss outcome had been planned for and was fully supported by the Society's reserves, emphasizing that the move will significantly strengthen the long-term resilience of the institution. The investment strategy was endorsed by new Chief Executive Stuart Miller, who described it as a major commitment that ensures the Society is here for the long haul.

Financial Performance

Despite the statutory loss driven by the technology investment, underlying operational metrics showed strong growth. Mortgage lending increased to £2.89 billion and savings deposits to £3.17 billion, both representing record figures for the Society. The balance sheet stood at an all-time high of £3.46 billion, while mortgage arrears remained well below the industry average.

Business Operations and Community

The Cumberland offers personal and business current accounts and provides loans to businesses, a feature unusual for a building society. Alongside growth in residential mortgages, the Society expanded its holiday let lending and maintained commercial lending, providing new secured loans to retailers, care homes, and the hospitality sector. Borderway Finance, the Society's car finance subsidiary, also reported growth.

Headquartered in Carlisle, the Society operates 31 branches across Cumbria, southwest Scotland, Northumberland, and Lancashire. Refurbishments at the Carlisle Rosehill and Annan branches were completed during the year, followed by an upgrade of the Barrow branch. Stuart Miller, who succeeded Des Moore as Chief Executive at the year-end, reaffirmed the commitment to investing in branches, noting their critical role in communities where other providers have withdrawn.

Strategic Initiatives

The Society achieved B Corp certification and retained the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for the sixth consecutive year. It has committed to being operationally carbon neutral by 2030 and donated £675,000 over the last three years to its Kinder Kind of Kitchen partnership to tackle food poverty. The Cumberland Charitable Foundation provided grants to 219 organisations during the year.

The annual general meeting (AGM) is scheduled for Tuesday 21 July at The Cumberland Head Office in Kingstown, Carlisle. The Society donates £2 to good causes for every vote cast at the AGM.