Nationwide wields axe over Cheshire estate agents

Eleven branches comprising the entire estate agency operation of the Cheshire Building Society are to close on July 9.

The resulting job losses will be among up to 250 jobs which are set to go at the building society.

It is to close its headquarters in Macclesfield some time in the next two years. Five branches of the Cheshire will also shut by October.

Of the 11 estate agency branches, some operate as stand-alone offices and others are within local Cheshire BS offices.

The move comes 18 months after the long-established Cheshire was taken over by the Nationwide. 



“Up to 250 jobs at the Cheshire will be affected by these decisions within the next 24 months,” said a Nationwide spokeswoman. 

“During that time the Society will work with employees to help them find suitable roles within or outside the Nationwide Group.”



The Cheshire, along with the Derbyshire and Dunfermline Building Societies, became a trading division of the Nationwide in December 2008. Since then, the Nationwide has been carrying out a strategic review of its operations. 

Nationwide says the estate agency operation is not core to the Nationwide model.

The closures will leave the Cheshire with around 37 branches across the north-west and Wales.