COMPANY NOTES
MANY interesting reports are now being re- ceived from Building Societies, the majority of which are reporting record results for 1959.
Abbey National Building Society. The chair- man, Sir Harold Bellman, reports record results for the society, with advances up 53.1 per cent. at £62.8 million. The society's assets position, always a strong one, has again been improved; cash and trustee investments at the end of the year amounted to £55.27 million, equal to 15.9 per cent. of total assets. Investors now totalling 658,289 subscribed a record amount of £82.5 mil- lion. The liquidity is now so good that the invest- ment reserve account standing at Elf million has now been closed and the balance transferred to general reserve. This year the amount allocated to this account was £1,157,159. It would be difficult to find a more impressive state of affairs which is supported by an informative report.
Woolwich. Equitable Building Society is one of the few societies to close its accounts on Septem- ber 30, 1959. They have produced impressive accounts, having more than doubled their share- holdings accounts at £15.84 million, whilst the amount advanced on mortgage was no less than 74 per cent. up at a record of £31.7 million. This is an expanding society with 44 branches which the chairman, Sir Thomas G. Spencer, says will soon be increased to 50.
Skipton Building Society has increased its total assets by 7.3 per cent. during 1959. There has been a definite turn-round in funds from the society's 15,360 shareholders, whose investments exceeded withdrawals by over £605,000 as against a previous outflow of £116,000. This society has a very strong liquid assets position which is equivalent to 15 per cent. of total assets.
Westbourne Park Building Society has reported record business for 1959, with share receipts exceeding £4 million for the first time in the society's history. This enabled it to expand its mortgage lending by no less than £2.46 million to a record of £5.37 million.
Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society has advanced a record sum of £6.1 million on mortgage, of which 99.5 per cent. was to owner- occupiers; this is practically double the amount lent in the previous year. The average advance made was £1,650. The society's balance sheet is very strong with liquid assets at 15.3 per cent. of total assets.
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