22 The year 2000 saw the acquisition of Woolwich plc - FINANCE - 103 22 the year 2000 saw the acquisition of woolwich plc SCHOOL View Full Document [22] The year 2000 saw the acquisition of Woolwich plc (formerly the Woolwich Building Society ). [23] 21st century [ edit ] In 2001 Barclays closed 171 branches in the UK, many of them in rural communities: Barclays called itself "THE BIG BANK" but this name was quickly given a low profile after a series of embarrassing PR stunts. [24] In 2003, Barclays bought the American credit card company Juniper Bank from CIBC , re-branding it as "Barclays Bank Delaware". [25] The same year saw the acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, the 11th largest Spanish bank. [26] Barclays took over sponsorship of the Premier League from Barclaycard in 2004. [27] In May 2005 Barclays moved its group headquarters from Lombard Street in the City of London to One Churchill Place in Canary Wharf .

Also in 2005 Barclays sealed a £2.6bn takeover of Absa Group Limited , South Africa's largest retail bank, acquiring a 54% stake on 27 July 2005. [28] Then in 2006, Barclays purchased the HomEq Servicing Corporation for US$469 million in cash from Wachovia Corp. [29] That year also saw the acquisition of the financial website Comparetheloan [30] and Barclays announcing plans to rebrand Woolwich branches as Barclays, migrating Woolwich customers onto Barclays accounts and migrating back-office processes onto Barclays systems – the Woolwich brand was to be used for Barclays mortgages. [31] In January 2007, Barclays announced that it had purchased the naming rights to the Barclays Center , a proposed 18,000-seat arena in Brooklyn , New York, where the New Jersey Nets planned to relocate. [32] Barclays cancelled its secondary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2008. This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document In April 2013, Barclays announced a new initiative called Digital Eagles.

The ideology was to create infectious staff advocacy and use this opportunity to highlight to customers the benefits of digital solutions to help make customers live much easier. Barclays Digital Eagles are the creative driving force for everything digital across the United Kingdom with expansions taking place in South Africa and Europe. Abandoned merger with ABN AMRO [ edit ] In March 2007, Barclays announced plans to merge with ABN AMRO , the largest bank in the Netherlands. [33] [34] However, on 5 October 2007 Barclays announced that it had abandoned its bid, [35] citing inadequate support by ABN shareholders. Fewer than 80% of shares had been tendered to Barclays' cash-and-shares offer. [36] This left the consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland free to proceed with its US$99.9 cents counter-bid for ABN AMRO. This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document.

TERM _ _ Report Information from ProQuest 19 August 2015 20:27 _ 19 August 2015 ProQuest T 03.pdf Woolwich Barclays Bank - UK Financial Options Woolwich Bank The Woolwich is the trading name of Barclays Bank, and was the trading name of one of the initial permanent building societies - the Woolwich Building Society, which was founded in 1847. As one of the biggest building societies in the UK, the Woolwich Bank became famous for a series of TV advertisements with the slogan, “I’m with the Woolwich” in 1980s. The Woolwich Bank also sponsored Charlton Athletic, a local football team. When Woolwich Building Society demutualised (demutualization, according to Wikipedia is the process by which mutual organizations or companies convert themselves to ‘for-profit’ (or profit-making) public companies, which distribute profits to their shareholders in the form of dividends) in 1997 it gave up its mutual status of being a PLC. Another company, Woolwich PLC was a member of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), giving share holdings to investors and borrowers in the society.

But in 2000, Woolwich PLC was bought by Barclays Bank and thereby became a part of the Barclays Bank Group of Companies. So, after the 2000 acquisition of Woolwich PLC, Barclay retained the brand name Woolwich while also retaining the Woolwich Bank’s Head Office in Bexleyheath in London. Today, Barclays is one of the largest banks in the world. But Barclays grew from modest beginnings back in the dark streets of London in the 17 th century. Barclays is poised to have a much stronger presence in the financial markets across the world. As a financial services organisation, Barclays Bank is involved in lending, investing etc for over 27 million consumers world-wide including everyone from corporations to retails bankers. Barclays PLC is offers financial services solutions world-wide. Firmly established across all seven continents, Barclays PLC, the holding company for Barclays Bank, is also listed on both London and New York Stock Exchanges. Headquartered in both London and New York, Barclays is committed to serving the financial needs of customers in Europe, US, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

Over the years, Barclays Bank has developed a highly diverse and extremely strong portfolio offering multitude of financial services to help customers and clients manage their assets in the most beneficial ways. Here’s an overview of Barclays Bank’s two main businesses, each of which has been subdivided into multiple business units: Commercial and Global Retail Banking: In UK - Retail Banking & Business Banking Barclaycard – Credit Cards Global Commercial and Retail Banking Absa Barclays Global Investors Barclays Wealth Just last year, 28 th June 2006, Barclays Bank made an announcement regarding the Woolwich Bank. According to the announcement, the Woolwich will become the mortgage brand for Barclays in the UK and will be ably supported by all Barclays Bank’s branches. Furthermore, Woolwich Bank’s branches will be re-branded as Barclays Bank’s branches and the migration of all Woolwich Bank’s accounts to Barclays will be completed by early 2007. Let us keep you updated with all the latest financial products and services.

Barclays and Woolwich to tie the knot - Telegraph Barclays and Woolwich to tie the knot By Helen Dunne, Associate City Editor 12:00AM BST 12 Aug 2000 ONE in four Woolwich branches will close and 1,000 jobs will be lost after Barclays Bank acquires the former building society in a £5.3 billion share and cash transaction that was finally confirmed yesterday. Matt Barrett, chief executive of Barclays, said the acquisition of Woolwich was a "tongue and groove fit" but admitted that cost cutting of some overlapping functions was inevitable. About 100 Woolwich branches are located within 100 metres of a Barclays, and will close by the end of next year, leaving the combined group with just over 2,000 branches. Mr Barrett said: "We have something of a reputation when it comes to branch closures but let me say that we will do our utmost to ensure our customers don't suffer from them." He added that 1,000 jobs from a combined workforce of 76,500 would be lost.

"It is difficult to be precise but we are absolutely determined that the vast majority of these will be accommodated through natural attrition without involuntary termination," he said. "These job cuts should not be of concern to existing staff." The merged group will generate annual pre-tax cost savings of £150m within three years and £90m of revenue synergies. A restructuring charge of £150m will be incurred. Mr Barrett said: "We will remove identical support functions and avoid duplicated investment." Bexleyheath, the headquarters of Woolwich, will be "retained as a significant centre of employment". Related Articles See City Comment 12 Aug 2000 The Woolwich name will also be kept and become the mortgage brand for all Barclays products. "We are conscious of the history and attributes associated with Woolwich," said Mr Barrett. "Our idea is that it will exist in perpetuity." The final offer, which has been expected since Wednesday, will give Woolwich shareholders a cash payment of 164p for each share they own, plus 0.1175 Barclays shares. They are not entitled to Barclays' 20p interim dividend but will retain the 4.4p announced by Woolwich.

Barclays Stockbrokers will operate a low-cost dealing service for Woolwich shareholders who wish to sell all or part of their Barclays shares. Woolwich shares closed up 4 at 341.5 yesterday while Barclays lost another 11 to close at £15.70, valuing the transaction at £5.3 billion. Barclays shares have now lost 94p since the offer was unveiled. Mr Barrett said: "A movement like that is not at all unusual when a transaction like this is announced. Shareholders now need to digest much more information. It was sort of one-hand clapping earlier in the week." However, he admitted: "The City appears to be a wee bit spooked about what we regard as good business." John Stewart, chief executive of Woolwich, will become deputy chief executive, with responsibility for retail banking. Mr Stewart has been tipped as heir apparent, but Mr Barrett said: "John is joining an outstanding team of executive officers. I don't want to speculate on the future but focus on what's at hand today." Woolwich chairman Sir Brian Jenkins will become deputy chairman.

Stephen Russell, chief executive of Boots and a non-executive director of Woolwich, will also join the Barclays board as a non-executive. The merged group will have more than 16m customers. Mr Barrett yesterday vowed: "Both sets of customers will see better deals than they have ever seen before." The Woolwich | Barclays Group Archives Founding banks and building societies The Woolwich Established in 1847 as the Woolwich Equitable Benefit Building and Investment Association, like most building societies it was formed to receive the savings of local people and to finance home ownership in the area. It was incorporated under the Building Societies Act of 1874 as Woolwich Equitable Benefit Building Society, shortened subsequently to Woolwich Equitable Building Society. By 1947, it had 43 branches arranged across seven administrative regions. From 1959 it issued pass books to subscribing members to replace traditional share certificates.

From the 1970s onwards the Woolwich acquired a number of other building societies, including Grays (1978); New Cross (1984); North Kent (1986); Property Owners (1986); Gateway (1988) and Town and Country (1992). In 1990, the name was shortened to Woolwich Building Society. In 1997 the society followed the pattern of most of the large building societies in demutualising under the Building Societies Act of 1986 and becoming a public company. Its shares were quoted on the stock exchange and in 2000 Woolwich PLC agreed to merge with Barclays. The High Court sanctioned a scheme of arrangement under section 425 of the Companies Act, and on 25 October the entire share capital was transferred to Barclays Bank PLC. These records constitute one of the few comprehensive archives for a major building society available to researchers.

Material available at Group Archives: board and committee minutes 1847 onwards (gap 1859-66) annual reports and accounts 1848 onwards rule books 1855 onwards general meeting papers 1950s onwards valuation and report 1902 papers regarding war service and comfort fund 1940s staff association records 1920-65 examples of advertising material 1930s onwards examples of pass books Woolwich - Mortgage Strategy Mortgage Strategy Woolwich All companies About us Woolwich is the brand name used by Barclays for its mortgage products and services. Having acquired the Woolwich building society in 2000, Barclays subsequently closed or rebranded all Woolwich branches and migrated all Woolwich accounts in 2007. Woolwich offers a range of mortgages including fixed-rate, tracker, offset, buy-to-let, family springboard, help-to-buy and the government’s NewBuy scheme mortgages. Woolwich tries to encourage business with intermediaries by offering advisers the potential to earn up to three procuration fees from one client.

The fee eligibility is based on a scenario in which the client takes a Woolwich mortgage, activates the switch and fix facility, and switches to a different product upon maturity of the previous fixed rate. The mortgage provider is part of the Buy to Let Business Mortgage Club panel of lenders. Members of the club are given access to buy-to-let products at 60 and 75 per cent LTV tiers with maximum loan sizes of £1m. Woolwich is limiting the loan-to-value at 50 per cent and increasing the minimum level of equity to £300,000 in an attempt to tighten its interest-only criteria for borrowers who want to use the sale of a property as a repayment vehicle. Explore Woolwich Mortgage Comparison - Moving home Sorry, there were no mortgages matching your criteria. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE About Woolwich The Woolwich Building Society was originally formed as a mutual organisation in 1847, and became one of the UK's biggest building societies.

In 1997 it ceased to be a mutual organisation and became Woolwich Plc, which was a FTSE 100 company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Later, in 2000, Woolwich Plc was acquired by Barclays, and now exists as a Barclays mortgage brand. As one of the biggest banks in the world and one of the UK's 'big four', Barclays are a very popular option among those who prefer to get their mortgage with a major high street bank that offers plenty of different products and the convenience of lots of branches and service options. Barclays mortgages include fixed rate, tracker and offset mortgages. A fixed rate mortgage is one where the interest rate does not change for a set period of time. A tracker mortgage is where the interest rates change in line with the Bank of England base rate, plus a percentage agreed as part of your mortgage terms. An offset mortgage is a newer style of mortgage, where you can offset your savings and the money in your current account against the mortgage and only pay interest on the rest of your outstanding mortgage.

All of these different types of mortgage have pros and cons for different people, so it is worth doing your research to find out which mortgage style is most likely to offer you good value moving forward. Barclays offer their Woolwich mortgage customers full online banking services, and there is also the support of their call centres, and of course their branches. There are around 1,600 Barclays branches in the UK (and around 4,750 around the world), so if you prefer to discuss your mortgage in person it can be best to choose a major bank of this type. In addition to mortgages, Barclays offer a huge array of financial products and services, however the Woolwich brand is used only for mortgage products. uSwitch is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FSA FRN 312850) to provide this mortgage comparison service uSwitch services are provided at no cost to you, but we may receive a commission from the companies we refer you to. Barclays Bank Mortgage Rates Application Information for Mortgages Barclays Mortgages Mortgage Rates from Barclays Bank Barclays Bank offers mortages through their mortgage arm "the Woolwich".

Barclays acquired the Woolwich Building Society in 2000 and is the fifth largest lender in the UK. There are many products to choose from with many listed in the "best buy" tables each week. Barclays Variable Rate Products There are several mortgage products that are based upon the Barclays variable rate whether they be completely at the standard variable rate or a percentage above this for example as a tracker rate. You can take out a direct variable mortgage with Barclays but the rate is a whopping 4.99% where as if you start on another product and let it lapse, once the discount period has completed, the rate is 3.89%. Standard Variable Rate Deal As mentioned above there is a standard variable rate mortage you can take with Barclays at 4.99% but there is no need to especially as the loan to value is a maximum 60%. Tracker Rates - Lifetime Trackers All Barclays tracker mortgages are for the life of the loan so there is no expiry period for these products.

They track the Barclays Bank Base Rate - BBBR (which may or may not be the same as the Bank of England Base Rate) at a rate of 3.39% above the BBBR with various early redempton charges in the first 2 years. Capped Rate Mortgages A capped rate simply means you pay a variable interest rate but it goes no higher than a certain amount if rates rise. Barclays does not usually offer capped rate mortgages but it's worth looking on their site if this is what you are after. Barclays Fixed Rate Mortgages These types of mortgages are very popular if you believe that rates will rise in the future or simply want to know that your monthly repayments will be fixed for a certain amount of time. Barclays offer a range of fixed rate mortgages but generally these are for 2 years, 3 years or 5 years. These then revert to the BBBR + 3.39% once the initial interest rate offer has expired. There are high early redemption penalties of 3% of the balance which would be repaid if you cancel your mortgage for whatever reason in the first 2 years you have it.

Most products carry an arrangement fee or application fee anywhere from £199 to £1,499 depending on the risk you pose (ie: high or low loan to value percentages). Many of these application fees are refundable if you eventually take out the mortgage and it's best to check with the Bank itself or your mortgage advisor on how this all works in your circumstances. The actual interest rate charged on each products varies depending on three main factors: Your loan to value (LTV) percentage (generally between 60% and 85% depending on what mortgage you are applying for). The amount of arrangement/ application fee you pay. The length of the initial interest rate for discounted and fixed products. With the risk being taken out of the market the very best deals are found where your loan to value percentage is low. Rates can vary by over 1% and the highest are where the LTV is 90% or more. If your LTV is 75% or less than you'll find the best deal from Barclays and all other banks.

Compare Mortgages Woolwich | Barclays Group Archives Stories Woolwich The Woolwich Equitable Building Society was founded in 1847 in the office of local solicitor, Frederick Pearce, at 145 Powis Street. Meeting with Pearce were local businessmen William Suggitt and Charles Hicks; William Young, a draper; and Samuel Wates, Poor Relief Officer for Woolwich. The Society was formed to receive the savings of Woolwich people and to finance home ownership in the area, and was called the Woolwich Equitable Benefit Building and Investment Association. Business was initially carried out from Pearce's office, and later from the home of the Secretary, Benjamin Wates, at 153 Powis Street. In November 1862, the Woolwich finally opened its first formal office at 131 Powis Street. In the 1870s, it opened its first agency in Peckham, and then later its first branch on the Old Kent Road. Building on a firm local reputation, the fledgling society survived to remain in the forefront of the 2,000-plus societies at the turn of the century.

By 1914 its assets had grown to £1.4 million and its membership to 9,700. At the beginning, the Woolwich had only employed one full-time permanent member of staff, the Secretary. However, its growth and expansion during the last quarter of the nineteenth century demonstrated the need for more staff. In 1912, the first female member of staff, Ethel Reading, was appointed, and the outbreak of World War One in 1914 with the subsequent loss of male staff to the Armed Forces, saw a sharp increase in the number of female staff. With the return of the men after the War many of the female staff left, although some were allowed to stay on as long as they were unmarried. In 1923, the first Woolwich branch office was opened in the City of London. The house building boom of the 1920s and 1930s enabled the Society to expand rapidly: 14 branches were opened by the end of the 1920s and a further 24 added by the outbreak of World War Two.

This expansion meant that the Woolwich had outgrown its old premises in Powis Street, despite extensions into adjoining buildings. In 1935, it moved to its newly-built headquarters, Equitable House in General Gordon Square. Equitable House was completed in just fifteen months at a cost of around £120,000. The Directors took great delight in the fact that all the building materials and equipment used in the building were of British origin and manufacture, and were especially proud of the many modern devices installed to promote the efficient operation of the Society. These included pneumatic message tubes, a centralised vacuum cleaning plant, a chute connected to a post box on the lower ground floor from each of the floors above, and clocks throughout the building with numbers which could be made to light up by the switchboard operator to alert one of twelve senior staff that he was needed on the telephone. Notwithstanding the modern technology, there was also an effort to add a little prestige to the building, with counter-grilles made of silver-bronze, banking hall walls of grey Derbyshire marble, and panelling in the board room of English oak. In the years before World War Two, staff numbers peaked at 575.

The outbreak of World War Two saw staff numbers fall, and the Woolwich (like other employers) turned to women once again, and it was decided to relax the unmarried women only rule. For the duration of the War, the Woolwich moved its headquarters from Equitable House (located precariously close to the Arsenal and the docks) to Pilgrim House in Westerham, Kent. Pilgrim House had originally been a farmhouse, but had been converted in to a boys' school in 1902. The Woolwich added a strongroom for their deeds store 100 feet below the building, installed central heating, an electricity generator, new toilets, a private sewage plant, and built dormitory huts for 140 staff that were moved out to Kent. Ironically, Pilgrim House was located quite close to Biggin Hill aerodrome and suffered 145 air raid alerts between September and November 1939. Meanwhile, Equitable House, although located in an area devastated by bombing, emerged from the War unscathed.

At the time of its centenary in 1947, the Woolwich had 43 branches, assets of over £50 million, and 600 staff. Keen to invest in its staff and to support those returning from the Armed Forces, the Woolwich embarked on a series of new selection and training schemes during the late 1940s and early 1950s. This meant that it was able to fill senior positions by promoting from within, rather than recruiting suitably qualified people from elsewhere. Modern technology, in the shape of Burroughs electrical accounting and calculating machines was beginning to make its presence felt, but generally, the processes involved within the Woolwich's departments remained very labour intensive. The mortgage department alone employed 100 people. During the 1960s and 1970s, growth was rapid; as home ownership boomed, strong demand for mortgages enabled the Woolwich to establish itself as a truly national building society with high street branches throughout the United Kingdom. In 1965, the arrears, insurance, investment and mortgage departments moved to the Woolwich's new office at Bexleyheath.

By 1970, the Woolwich employed 1,500 staff, half of them in its head offices, and the other half throughout its branch network of just over 100 offices. However, newly-appointed General Manager, Alan Cumming believed that the branches were over-staffed, and within a year, the number of branch staff had dropped by 25%. Public awareness of the Woolwich was heightened in the early 1970s when it became the first building society to advertise on television, and later that decade screened the award-winning 'We're with the Woolwich' campaign. In 1979, the Woolwich led the way with another innovation, computerising its branch network with counter-top terminals online to its central computer, providing customers with updated information about their accounts. In the 1980s, the Society was amongst the first to expand its operations into the London wholesale money markets with the issue of certificates of deposit, time deposits and floating rate notes. It was also the first building society to raise funds in the Deutsche Mark capital market.

The 1970s and 1980s also saw the Woolwich take over or merge with a number of other building societies, including; Grays (1978), New Cross (1984), North Kent (1986), Property Owners (1986), and Gateway (1988). In 1989, the Woolwich moved to its newly-built corporate headquarters in Bexleyheath. The former head office, Equitable House, became one of three administration centres. A year later, the word 'Equitable' was dropped from the name of the company, making it simply the Woolwich Building Society. In 1991, it offered a current account, and also joined forces with Sun Alliance to form Woolwich Life. The following year, it took over the Town and Country Building Society. In 1993, thanks to a substantial investment in improving service levels across the network, the Woolwich became the first major financial institution to receive an Investor in People award. Branches were redesigned and staff were moved out from behind glass screens in order to provide a more personal service to customers.

This modernisation process culminated with the Woolwich's conversion to a PLC in 1997. Three years later, attracted by the prospect of a ready-made mortgage business, Barclays PLC paid £5.4 billion for the Woolwich. To a great extent, the Woolwich continued to operate as a separate entity within Barclays and the process of amalgamation was quite gradual. However, in 2007, Woolwich branches disappeared from British high streets as they were either closed (and their business transferred to the local Barclays branch), or transformed in to Barclays branches. The Woolwich name, however, lived on as Barclays mortgage business. Tags BSA - General Factsheets A list of the building societies that converted to banks, in reverse chronological order, detailing what happened to them and where they are now. Bradford & Bingley Converted to a bank 4 December 2000. Mortgage book nationalised September 2008. Retail savings transferred to Abbey (Santander) September 2008. Abbey rebranded to Santander on 11 January 2010.

In October 2010 Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc and Bradford & Bingley were integrated under a single holding company, UK Asset Resolution (UKAR). UKAR’s has implemented a business plan that aims to wind down the institutions in a way that maximises taxpayer value for money and repays combined debt to the taxpayer of around £50bn. Birmingham Midshires Taken over by Halifax, April 1999. Now a division of Bank of Scotland, part of Lloyds Banking Group. Northern Rock Converted to a bank on 1 October 1997. On 22 February 2008, by an order made under the Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008, the shares of Northern Rock plc were transferred into temporary public ownership. On 1 January 2010 Northern Rock was split into two separate entities: Northern Rock plc, a new savings and mortgage bank authorised as a mortgage lender by the FSA; and Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc. On 17 November 2011 the Chancellor announced the sale of Northern Rock plc to Virgin Money and the sale was completed on 1 January 2012.

Virgin Money completed its rebranding of all Northern Rock branches to Virgin Money in October 2012. In October 2010 Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc and Bradford & Bingley were integrated under a single holding company, UK Asset Resolution (UKAR). UKAR’s has implemented a business plan that aims to wind down the institutions in a way that maximises taxpayer value for money and repays combined debt to the taxpayer of around £50bn. Bristol & West Taken over by Bank of Ireland, 28 July 1997. Bristol & West transferred its branch network and savings business to Britannia Building Society on 21 September 2005. In January 2009 Bristol & West Mortgages ceased accepting new customers. All existing Bristol and West mortgages were transferred to Bank of Ireland. Britannia became part of The Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) on 1 August 2009. CFS changed their name to the Co-operative Banking Group in September 2011. The Britannia brand is gradually being replaced by the Co-operative Bank brand.

Woolwich Converted to a bank on 7 July 1997, taken over by Barclays Bank in October 2000and became a trading name of Barclays Bank. In July 2015 Barclays announced that the Woolwich brand is to be gradually phased out. Halifax Converted to a bank 2 June 1997. Merged with Bank of Scotland to form HBOS in 2001. In September 2008 Lloyds Bank agreed to take over HBOS. It became part of Lloyds Banking Group on 16 January 2009. Alliance & Leicester Converted to a bank on 21 April 1997, acquired by Santander in October 2008. Alliance & Leicester rebranded as Santander in November 2010. National & Provincial History of Woolwich Equitable Building Society | Barclays A quick history of the Woolwich Parsys 2 The Woolwich Equitable Building Society was founded in 1847 in the office of local solicitor, Frederick Pearce, at 145 Powis Street.

Meeting with Pearce were local businessmen William Suggitt and Charles Hicks; William Young, a draper; and Samuel Wates, poor relief officer for Woolwich. The society was formed to receive the savings of Woolwich people and to finance home ownership in the area. It was called the Woolwich Equitable Benefit Building and Investment Association. The old Woolwich logo Business was initially carried out from Pearce's office, and later from the home of the Secretary, Benjamin Wates, at 153 Powis Street. In November 1862, the Woolwich finally opened its first formal office at 131 Powis Street. In the 1870s, it opened its first agency in Peckham, and then later its first branch on the Old Kent Road. Building on a firm local reputation, the fledgling society survived to remain in the forefront of the 2,000-plus societies at the turn of the century. By 1914 its assets had grown to £1.4 million and its membership to 9,700. At the beginning, the Woolwich had only employed one full-time permanent member of staff - the secretary.

However, its growth and expansion during the last quarter of the nineteenth century meant that more staff became necessary. In 1912, the first female member of staff was appointed, Miss Ethel Reading, and the outbreak of World War One in 1914 with the subsequent loss of male staff to the Armed Forces, saw a sharp increase in the number of female staff. With the return of the men after the war many of the female staff left, although some were allowed to stay on as long as they were unmarried. In 1923, the first Woolwich branch office was opened in the City of London. The house building boom of the 1920s and 1930s enabled the Society to expand rapidly - 14 branches were opened by the end of the 1920s and a further 24 added by the outbreak of World War Two. All of this expansion meant that the Woolwich had outgrown its old premises in Powis Street, despite extensions into adjoining buildings. In 1935, it moved to its newly-built headquarters, Equitable House in General Gordon Square.

Equitable House was completed in just fifteen months at a cost of around £120,000. The directors took great delight in the fact that all the building materials and equipment used in the building were of British origin and manufacture, and were especially proud of the many modern devices installed to promote the efficient operation of the Society. These included pneumatic message tubes, a centralised vacuum cleaning plant, a chute connected to a post box on the lower ground floor from each of the floors above, and clocks throughout the building with numbers which could be made to light up by the switchboard operator to alert one of twelve senior staff that he was needed on the telephone. Notwithstanding all of this modern technology, there was also some effort to add a little prestige to the building - the counter-grilles were made of silver-bronze, the banking hall walls were of grey Derbyshire marble, and the board room was panelled in English oak. In the years before World War Two, staff numbers peaked at 575. The outbreak of World War Two saw staff numbers fall and the Woolwich (like every other employer) turned to women once again - it was decided to relax the unmarried women only rule.

For the duration of the war, the Woolwich moved its headquarters from Equitable House (located precariously close to the Arsenal and the docks) to Pilgrim House in Westerham, Kent. Pilgrim House had originally been a farmhouse, but had been converted in to a boys school in 1902. The Woolwich added a strong room for their deeds store 100 feet below the building, installed central heating, an electricity generator, new toilets, a private sewage plant, and built dormitory huts for 140 staff who were moved out to Kent. Ironically, Pilgrim House was located quite close to Biggin Hill aerodrome and suffered 145 air raid alerts between September and November 1939. Meanwhile, Equitable House, although located in an area devastated by bombing, emerged from the war unscathed. At the time of its centenary in 1947 the Woolwich had 43 branches, assets of over £50 million and 600 staff.

Keen to invest in its staff and to support those returning from the Armed Forces, the Woolwich embarked on a series of new selection and training schemes during the late 1940s and early 1950s. This meant that it was able to fill senior positions by promoting from within, rather than recruiting suitably qualified people from elsewhere. Modern technology, in the shape of Borroughs electrical accounting and calculating machines was beginning to make its presence felt, but generally, the processes involved within the Woolwich's departments remained very labour intensive. The mortgage department alone employed 100 people. During the 1960s and 1970s, growth was rapid - as home ownership boomed, strong demand for mortgages enabled the Woolwich to establish itself as a truly national building society with high street branches throughout the United Kingdom. In 1965, the arrears, insurance, investment and mortgage departments moved to the Woolwich's new office at Bexleyheath. By 1970, the Woolwich employed 1,500 staff, half of them in its head offices and the other half throughout its branch network of just over 100 offices.

However, newly-appointed General Manager, Alan Cumming believed that the branches were over-staffed, and within a year, the number of branch staff had dropped by 25%. Public awareness of the Woolwich was heightened in the early 1970s when it became the first building society to advertise on television, later that decade screening the award-winning 'We're with the Woolwich' campaign. In 1979, the Woolwich led the way with another innovation, computerising its branch network with counter-top terminals online to its central computer, providing customers with updated information about their accounts. In the 1980s, the Society was amongst the first to expand its operations into the London wholesale money markets with the issue of certificates of deposit, time deposits and floating rate notes. It was also the first building society to raise funds in the Deutsche Mark capital market. The 1970s and 1980s also saw the Woolwich take over or merge with a number of other building societies, including; Grays (1978), New Cross (1984), North Kent (1986), Property Owners (1986), and Gateway (1988).

In 1989, the Woolwich moved to its newly-built corporate headquarters in Bexleyheath. The former head office, Equitable House, became one of three administration centres. A year later, the word 'Equitable' was dropped from the name of the company, making it simply the Woolwich Building Society. In 1991, it offered a current account, and also joined forces with Sun Alliance to form Woolwich Life. The following year, it took over the Town and Country Building Society. In 1993, thanks to a substantial investment in improving service levels across the network, the Woolwich became the first major financial institution to receive an Investor In People award. Branches were redesigned and staff were moved out from behind glass screens in order to provide a more personal service to customers. This modernisation process culminated with the Woolwich's conversion to a PLC in 1997. Three years later, attracted by the prospect of a ready-made mortgage business, Barclays PLC paid £5.4 billion for the Woolwich. To a great extent, the Woolwich continued to operate as a separate entity within Barclays and the process of amalgamation was quite gradual.

However, in 2007, Woolwich branches disappeared from British high streets as they were either closed (and their business transferred to the local Barclays branch), or transformed in to Barclays branches. The Woolwich name, however, lived on as Barclays mortgage business. Parsys 3

Question: Which bank acquired the Woolwich Building Society in 2000?
Answer: Barclays