Lloyds Banking Group is to close its 164 Cheltenham & Gloucester(C&G) branches, in November that will result in the loss of jobs up to 1,660. However, C&G customers can continue to manage their accounts at any of Lloyds more than 1,800 branches over the phone and by post. There will be no change to the terms and conditions of existing C&G savings and mortgage accounts.
From 1 July, the Group’s mortgage intermediary brands will be Birmingham Midshires, C&G, Halifax and Scottish Widows. Bank of Scotland and Intelligent Finance will no longer write new intermediary business and there will be no change for existing customers.
Additionally, the Group will increase the size of its Black Horse direct sales operation whilst, at the same time, reducing the number of its Black Horse sales centres from 92 to 61. The Group’s personal loans product team will be moved from Chester to London by end of 2011. The Group’s mortgage businesses will continue to be managed primarily from Gloucester, Halifax and Pendeford.
Helen Weir, Group Executive Director, Retail, said: “Cheltenham & Gloucester is a very strong brand. The strategic focus for C&G from now on will be to further strengthen its intermediary and direct savings businesses. Another major priority for us is to ensure that we manage the closure of the C&G branch network so that it causes as little disruption as possible to our customers. We have a number of measures in place to achieve this”
“It is always difficult to make decisions about our business that affect our colleagues. We will work through these changes carefully and sensitively and continue to consult closely with our unions throughout the process,” he added.
