Newcastle Building Society has cemented its future in a North East market town after acquiring the leasehold for its Hexham branch.
The society opened in the market town four years ago, taking over the former Dickinsons site opposite Hexham Abbey as part of its multimillion-pound branch network investment programme. It has now acquired a 999-year lease for the branch, with freeholder Abbey View (North East) Ltd also set to invest in adapting the building’s upper floors into residential accommodation. The society’s previous branch next door is also set to be occupied soon by a new tenant, having been empty for the past few years.
The society’s commitment to Hexham is the latest phase of its branch investment programme which includes the launch of a UK-first pilot to install multi-bank technology in two of its branches. Customers of any bank are able to use the OneBanx kiosks located in the Society’s Knaresborough and Gosforth branches to withdraw and deposit cash and coins from their accounts securely by use of a mobile app. Both Knaresborough and Gosforth have seen several bank branches close over recent years.
