esbs – as individual as you

esbs is a Building Society entirely focused on our members and the communities and issues that matter to them.  Through World Wars, pandemics, political, cultural and technological changes we’ve stood strong.  We treasure our legacy and continue to look forward in order to support our members for generations to come.

The first meeting of ‘Earl Shilton Permanent Benefit Building & Land Society’ was held in the Royal Oak Club Room, High Street, Earl Shilton, on the 17th December 1856. Members paid their first subscriptions on 3rd January 1857.

During the years, we have always been based in Earl Shilton in Leicestershire.  We also have a second branch in nearby Barwell and have been at our current home at The Hollow since 1940. Following an extensive refurbishment in 2013 the Head Office now provides even more of a secure, clean, professional and modern environment for members and staff, demonstrating our continued commitment to Earl Shilton.

The local Gilbert family was associated with the running of the Society for over 100 years until Mr. John Gilbert retired in the 1990s.

The Society has assets of over £180 million, over 15,000 members and 39 staff. It is in excellent financial health and remains committed, as it always has been, to providing a range of simple to understand financial service products to meet members’ needs.

We pride ourselves on always offering a friendly and professional service, tailored to the needs of our members.  In fact this personalised approach has become the anchor for our new slogan – ‘as individual as you’.  We firmly believe that every person should be treated as an individual, so offer products and services that do just that.

Our main objectives have always been to promote thrift and home ownership and these remain as important today as they did over 160 years ago. In recent years we’ve taken our responsibilities a stage further in the shape of a corporate partnership with Action Homeless, a Leicestershire charity and social enterprise committed to improving the lives of people in our area affected by homelessness.

We’ve also developed a quarterly token collection scheme which allows members to nominate the organisations that matter most to them and choose how our community funding budget should be spent. This approach underlines our commitment to engagement and we hope, allows us to truly earn our place in the community making us worthy users of the name ‘Earl Shilton’.

Why choose us?

  • esbs remains a small mutual organisation.
  • Our size means that we are able to offer a personal service to all of our customers.
  • We treat our customers as individuals.
  • Our friendly and knowledgeable staff aim to ensure the best outcomes for customers at all times.
  • We have over 160 years’ experience in providing mortgage and savings products and services.