Representatives from Brentwood Connected, the Business Improvement District (BID) in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone, and Mayor of Brentwood, Cllr Mark Haigh, were in attendance at the reopening event for the newly expanded Brentwood High Street branch of Nationwide Building Society.
Nationwide is the world’s largest building society and opened in Brentwood in 1934, moving to the High Street in the late 1970s. As part of its promise to keep its current branches open until at least 2028, Nationwide has invested in a significant transformation of the Brentwood branch, expanding into the premises next door. The bigger, better branch can now be found at 4 and 4a High Street, Brentwood.
Manager Ayesha Sajid was joined by team members Angela, Cath, Charlie and Victoria, along with extra help from employees from surrounding branches, to give visitors a warm welcome on their official opening day. Regular customers visited to take a look at the new space and were particularly pleased to see a familiar face in Angela, who has worked at the branch for an impressive 38 years. Also in attendance was Sam Turner-Bailey, currently on maternity leave from the branch, who brought along her baby son Harry to see the new and improved space.
Ayesha Sajid, branch manager at Nationwide in Brentwood, said: "We're excited to move back into our new branch, it's never looked better! The new branch has a big accessible space for us to support our customers face to face with their everyday banking. The new smart ATM allows withdrawals as well as deposits for both cash and cheques, making access to cash that little bit easier on the high street."
Sarah Walmsley, Brentwood Connected Business Improvement District (BID) Manager, said, “We were delighted to be invited along to the reopening of Nationwide, a much-loved asset to Brentwood High Street. The new and expanded branch is looking fantastic and we were pleased to see the return of valued customers during our visit, most of whom staff knew by name. We're looking forward to continuing to support Nationwide here in Brentwood to remain an important part of our community.”
Brentwood Connected is a unique Business Improvement District (BID) supporting the borough’s three high streets and funded by town centre businesses to improve the experience of residents, visitors, employees and businesses in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone.