Former building society HQ in Hinckley set to become housing after being sold off

A former head office in Hinckley is set to become a complex of apartments and houses after being sold off.

The previous home of Hinckley and Rugby Building Society on Upper Bond Street is soon to be sold by the financial firm.

The group left the base in August, moving over the road into the former magistrates' court building.

A spokesperson for the society said: “We have accepted an offer for our former Principal Office building on Upper Bond Street, Hinckley, and expect to complete the sale within the next couple of months.

“Planning permission has been approved to convert the building into apartments.”

Johnson Fellows is handling the sale and has confirmed that contracts have been exchanged for the property.

Plans were approved in January this year to convert the site into 17 apartments and two houses.

A further change of use was granted in May so the entire site can be converted into “residential dwelling houses”.

Vehicles will access the site from Druid Street, with the car park to be resurfaced and 32 parking spaces to be installed.

Several industrial units along the street have been turned into flats.

Plans were also filed in January this year to convert Essentia House, a factory building opposite the former head office on Upper Bond Street, into 35 flats.

The application was later withdrawn.

The building society was based in the former office since 1970 and launched in the town more than 150 years ago.

Its new home has been stripped of its court rooms and cells and replaced with open plan offices, meeting and training suites, and informal breakout spaces and a refreshments area.

Colin Fyfe said at the time of the move: “Our new head office is not only a wonderful place for our staff to work in and for ideas and great service to thrive, it’s also a statement of our commitment to Hinckley and our homelands.”

The new facility covers almost 20,000 square feet of floor space and is a third bigger than the previous one.

Head office staff numbers have doubled since 2010.

All the interiors are lit using LED energy-saving technology, while furniture such as desks, chairs and tables were chosen with the help of six colleagues.

Phone numbers and online contacts are unchanged.