Building societies in the United Kingdom:Which are most popular?

Name: Building societies in the United Kingdom: Which are searched most?
Creator: Brandwave
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In September 2026, Nationwide was the most searched building society brand in the United Kingdom, accounting for 37% of all searches among the nine brands we track. When we checked with ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, Nationwide and Coventry Building Society were mentioned most often, in four of the five answers. Nationwide was recommended most often, coming first in all four responses that gave a list.

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Top building societies in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Nationwide and Coventry Building Society were mentioned most often, in four of the five answers. Nationwide was recommended most often, coming first in all four answers that gave a list. Coventry Building Society was second, and Yorkshire Building Society and Skipton Building Society tied for third. West Brom Building Society, which ranked sixth in searches, was not mentioned at all.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

How many AI answers named each brand
Brand	ChatGPT	Google	Answers that named it
Nationwide	Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	4 of 5
Coventry Building Society	Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	4 of 5
Yorkshire Building Society	Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 2 of 2 Google AI Overviews	3 of 5
Skipton Building Society	Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 1 of 2 Google AI Overviews	2 of 5
Leeds Building Society	Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	2 of 5
West Brom Building Society	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5
Newcastle Building Society	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5
Principality Building Society	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5
Nottingham Building Society	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	Named in 0 of 2 Google AI Overviews	0 of 5

Nationwide4 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Coventry Building Society4 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Yorkshire Building Society3 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Skipton Building Society2 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
Leeds Building Society2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
West Brom Building Society0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
Newcastle Building Society0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
Principality Building Society0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
Nottingham Building Society0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about building societies

5 answers

Asked ChatGPT
“What's the best building society in the UK?”
Asked ChatGPT
“Which UK building society has the best savings rates?”
1. 1Leeds Building Society
Asked ChatGPT
“Which building society is best for a first-time buyer mortgage?”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“building society”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“best building society”

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in United Kingdom on October 26, 2026.

Which building societies do people search for most?

This chart shows how often people search Google for each building society brand by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all nine building society brands we track, month by month, from searches in United Kingdom.

Share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom, by month

Month	Nationwide	Coventry Building Society	Yorkshire Building Society	Skipton Building Society	Leeds Building Society	West Brom Building Society	Newcastle Building Society	Principality Building Society	Nottingham Building Society
Oct 2025	35%	19.1%	15.6%	8.5%	12.8%	2.1%	2.6%	3.1%	1.1%
Nov 2025	36.2%	19.8%	16.2%	7.3%	10.9%	3.3%	2.2%	3.3%	0.97%
Dec 2025	43.6%	19.5%	13.1%	7.2%	8.7%	2.1%	2.1%	2.6%	0.96%
Jan 2026	37%	20.3%	13.5%	9.1%	11.1%	2.2%	2.2%	3.3%	1.2%
Feb 2026	44.1%	16.1%	13.2%	8.8%	8.8%	2.7%	1.8%	3.2%	1.2%
Mar 2026	31.7%	21.2%	17.3%	11.6%	9.5%	2.3%	2.3%	2.8%	1.3%
Apr 2026	37%	16.6%	16.6%	11.1%	11.1%	2.2%	2.2%	2.2%	1%
May 2026	47.8%	14.3%	14.3%	7.8%	9.6%	1.9%	1.6%	1.9%	0.86%
Jun 2026	38.4%	17.2%	17.2%	9.4%	9.4%	2.8%	2.3%	2.3%	1%
Jul 2026	38.2%	20.9%	14%	9.3%	9.3%	2.8%	1.9%	2.3%	1.3%
Aug 2026	36.7%	20%	13.4%	11%	11%	2.2%	2.2%	2.2%	1.2%
Sep 2026	37%	20.2%	13.6%	11.1%	9%	3.3%	2.2%	2.2%	1.2%

Rank	Brand	Share of searches	Estimated monthly branded searches	vs prior month	Share change
1, held 1st	Nationwide	37%	450K	0%	+0.3 points
2, held 2nd	Coventry Building Society	20.2%	246K	0%	+0.2 points
3, held 3rd	Yorkshire Building Society	13.6%	165K	0%	+0.1 points
4, moved from 5th to 4th	Skipton Building Society	11.1%	135K	0%	+0.1 pointsmoved from 5th to 4th
5, moved from 4th to 5th	Leeds Building Society	9%	110K	-18.5%	-2 pointsmoved from 4th to 5th
6, moved from 8th to 6th	West Brom Building Society	3.3%	40.5K	+49.4%	+1.1 pointsmoved from 8th to 6th
7, moved from 6th to 7th	Newcastle Building Society	2.2%	27.1K	0%	0 pointsmoved from 6th to 7th
8, moved from 7th to 8th	Principality Building Society	2.2%	27.1K	0%	0 pointsmoved from 7th to 8th
9, held 9th	Nottingham Building Society	1.2%	14.8K	0%	0 points

1.Nationwide
37%
Held 1st. 450K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.3 points.
2.Coventry Building Society
20.2%
Held 2nd. 246K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.2 points.
3.Yorkshire Building Society
13.6%
Held 3rd. 165K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.
4.Skipton Building Society
11.1%
Moved from 5th to 4th. 135K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.
5.Leeds Building Society
9%
Moved from 4th to 5th. 110K estimated branded searches, -18.5% vs prior month. Share -2 points.
6.West Brom Building Society
3.3%
Moved from 8th to 6th. 40.5K estimated branded searches, +49.4% vs prior month. Share +1.1 points.
7.Newcastle Building Society
2.2%
Moved from 6th to 7th. 27.1K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
8.Principality Building Society
2.2%
Moved from 7th to 8th. 27.1K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
9.Nottingham Building Society
1.2%
Held 9th. 14.8K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Which brand is most popular in search among building societies in the United Kingdom?

9 brands

In September 2026, Nationwide was the most searched among building society brands in the United Kingdom, with an estimated 450K branded searches, 37% of all searches for the nine we track. Coventry Building Society is in 2nd place, 16.8 percentage points behind at 20.2%.

United Kingdom building societies, last 12 months ending September 2026
Brand	Share of searches	Peak	Low	Rank
Nationwide	35% → 37%	47.8%May 2026	31.7%Mar 2026	1st
Coventry Building Society	19.1% → 20.2%	21.2%Mar 2026	14.3%May 2026	2nd
Yorkshire Building Society	15.6% → 13.6%	17.3%Mar 2026	13.1%Dec 2025	3rd
Skipton Building Society	8.5% → 11.1%	11.6%Mar 2026	7.2%Dec 2025	5th → 4th
Leeds Building Society	12.8% → 9%	12.8%Oct 2025	8.7%Dec 2025	4th → 5th
West Brom Building Society	2.1% → 3.3%	3.3%Sep 2026	1.9%May 2026	8th → 6th
Newcastle Building Society	2.6% → 2.2%	2.6%Oct 2025	1.6%May 2026	7th
Principality Building Society	3.1% → 2.2%	3.3%Jan 2026	1.9%May 2026	6th → 8th
Nottingham Building Society	1.1% → 1.2%	1.3%Mar 2026	0.86%May 2026	9th

Each finding as a sentence

Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Nationwide’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom increased from 35% to 37%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Coventry Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom increased from 19.1% to 20.2%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Yorkshire Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom decreased from 15.6% to 13.6%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Skipton Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom increased from 8.5% to 11.1%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Leeds Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom decreased from 12.8% to 9%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, West Brom Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom increased from 2.1% to 3.3%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Principality Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom decreased from 3.1% to 2.2%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Nationwide’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom peaked at 47.8% in May 2026 and was lowest at 31.7% in March 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Coventry Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom peaked at 21.2% in March 2026 and was lowest at 14.3% in May 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Yorkshire Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom peaked at 17.3% in March 2026 and was lowest at 13.1% in December 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Skipton Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom peaked at 11.6% in March 2026 and was lowest at 7.2% in December 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Leeds Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom peaked at 12.8% in October 2025 and was lowest at 8.7% in December 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, West Brom Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom peaked at 3.3% in September 2026 and was lowest at 1.9% in May 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Principality Building Society’s share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom peaked at 3.3% in January 2026 and was lowest at 1.9% in May 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Skipton Building Society rose from 5th to 4th among building societies in the United Kingdom.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Leeds Building Society fell from 4th to 5th among building societies in the United Kingdom.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, West Brom Building Society rose from 8th to 6th among building societies in the United Kingdom.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Principality Building Society fell from 6th to 8th among building societies in the United Kingdom.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Newcastle Building Society and Nottingham Building Society held steady: their share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for United Kingdom building societies in September 2026?

6 changes

In September 2026, West Brom Building Society overtook Newcastle Building Society and Principality Building Society to rank 6th among building societies in the United Kingdom, with 3.3% of the searches.
In September 2026, Leeds Building Society lost share of searches among building societies in the United Kingdom, from 11% to 9%.
In September 2026, Skipton Building Society rose from 5th to 4th among building societies in the United Kingdom.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Principality Building Society in the United Kingdom fell 33.1% over 12 measured months, from 40.5K to 27.1K in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Newcastle Building Society in the United Kingdom fell 18.1% over 12 measured months, from 33.1K to 27.1K in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Yorkshire Building Society in the United Kingdom fell 17.9% over 12 measured months, from 201K to 165K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted for building societies?

9 search terms

Each brand's share of searches among building societies comes from the terms listed under its name. When people mostly search for a brand because of something else it sells, only the searches that name this product count here.