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old halifax bank branch

The history of the Halifax

A journey from small beginnings in the town of Halifax, Yorkshire, to becoming the UK’s largest mortgage provider.

old halifax bank branch

Key milestones in Halifax's history

  • 1853

    Halifax was founded as the Halifax Permanent Benefit Building Society in West Yorkshire, helping local people to save and buy homes. It became the Halifax Building Society in 1873.

  • 1913

    Assets reached £3 million, and during the 20th century Halifax grew to become one of the UK’s largest and most recognised building societies, known for accessible savings and mortgage products.

  • 1997

    Halifax members voted overwhelmingly in favour of conversion to plc status. The subsequent flotation on 2 June was the largest the Stock Market had seen and created some 7.5 million shareholders overnight.

  • 2001

    In September 2001, Halifax plc merged with Bank of Scotland to form HBOS plc.

  • 2009

    HBOS was acquired by Lloyds Banking Group, bringing Halifax into the Group alongside Lloyds and Bank of Scotland, creating one of the UK’s largest financial services groups.

  • 2026

    Halifax continued as a high street brand throughout the 2010s and 20s, serving millions of customers across current accounts, savings and mortgages. In 2026, it was announced that Halifax will change to Lloyds.

 

Established during the Industrial Revolution

The origins of the Halifax date back to the Industrial Revolution. Small towns across England were being transformed into manufacturing centres. People flocked from the surrounding countryside to work in them. But the sudden influx led to housing shortages and overcrowding.

A solution was found through newly emerging ‘building societies’ such as the Halifax.

The Halifax Permanent Benefit Building Society, as it was originally known, was established in Halifax in 1852. It was a loan and investment society for working people. Those with spare cash could deposit it and receive interest. Others could then borrow funds to buy or build a house.

Esau Hanson was the first person to be granted a Halifax mortgage. He borrowed £121 to buy land for a house in St John’s Lane. Coincidentally, our Trinity Road office is located on that very site today.

From local to national

The early decades of the 20th century saw the Halifax grow from a small local society to a national institution.

Key to this transformation was Enoch Hill who served as Secretary, then President, of the Halifax from 1903 to 1938. Hill initiated a huge expansion of the Halifax network to cover all parts of the UK.

Then in 1928 he oversaw the takeover of a major rival building society. The new Halifax Building Society had assets of £47 million and was the largest institution of its kind in the world.
 

Tackling the housing shortage

The aftermath of the First World War brought a severe housing shortage. The role of the Halifax was pivotal in supporting national house building schemes, advancing money to developers at very low rates of interest.

In total, it helped finance 14,000 new houses - 60% built under the government initiative.

Support for home builders was again required at the end of the Second World War. And again, the Halifax was there to help. Loan schemes were made available to large scale estate developers as well as private individuals.

 

Akroydon and West Hill Park

The Halifax has a long history of supporting house building in times of need. In the 1860s, it helped finance two housing schemes in Halifax at Akroydon and West Hill Park.

With people flocking to work in local textile mills, new homes were urgently needed. The new projects provided more than 200 houses for local people.

Each house had at least 2 bedrooms and were equipped with running water and gas for cooking and lighting – truly ‘model’ homes of their day.

Both estates are still going strong today. Akroydon is now part of Boothtown and West Hill Park lies just to the north of Halifax Central Mosque.

 

From building society to bank

The 1980s saw a radical shake up of the financial sector in the UK. New legislation allowed building societies to demutualise and increase their range of services to compete with traditional banks.

The Halifax began to offer retail banking, stock broking and insurance products.

But 1997 was the key turning point. That year Halifax members voted overwhelmingly for the organisation to convert to plc status.

On 2 June 1997, the Halifax Building Society ceased to exist. The share flotation was the largest seen on the UK stock market, with some 7.5 million new shareholders created.

Halifax continued as a high street brand from this point onwards, serving millions of customers across current accounts, savings and mortgages.

After merging with Bank of Scotland to form HBOS in 2001, and then being acquired by Lloyds Banking Group in 2009, in 2026 it was announced that Halifax will be rebranded to Lloyds.

Find out more about the history of our brands

Bank of Scotland

Bank of Scotland was founded in 1695, by an Act of the Scottish Parliament - making it Scotland's first and oldest bank.

Bank of Scotland Bank of Scotland

Lloyds Bank

Since 1765, Lloyds Bank has been serving the people, businesses and communities of Britain.

Lloyds Bank Halifax

Scottish Widows

Scottish Widows' Fund and Life Assurance Society was established on 29th July 1814.

Scottish Widows Scottish Widows
 

The Museum on the Mound

Our museum is located in Edinburgh, in the Scottish Headquarters of Lloyds Banking Group. It charts the history of banking in Scotland, and explores the theme of money in all its shapes and forms.

Arrange a visit Arrange a visit to the museum on the mound- opens in same tab