---
title: "Building societies in the United Kingdom: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the building societies people in the UK save and borrow with. Share of Search among Nationwide, Coventry Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, Leeds Building Society, West Brom Building Society, Newcastle Building Society, Principality Building Society and Nottingham Building Society, the building societies Brandwave compares in the United Kingdom, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/categories/uk-building-societies"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Building societies in the United Kingdom: Which are searched most?

Compare the building societies people in the UK save and borrow with. Share of Search among Nationwide, Coventry Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, Leeds Building Society, West Brom Building Society, Newcastle Building Society, Principality Building Society and Nottingham Building Society, the building societies Brandwave compares in the United Kingdom, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Building societies
- **Market**: United Kingdom
- **Brands compared**: 9
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Nationwide, 37%

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

- 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%.
- 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.

## 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.

Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options.

| Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nationwide | 1st | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| Coventry Building Society | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| Yorkshire Building Society | 3rd | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 |
| Skipton Building Society | 3rd | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Leeds Building Society | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| West Brom Building Society | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Newcastle Building Society | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Principality Building Society | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Nottingham Building Society | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |

## Every AI answer about building societies

- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best building society in the UK?": 1. Nationwide, 2. Skipton Building Society, 3. Coventry Building Society, 4. Leeds Building Society
- Asked ChatGPT "Which UK building society has the best savings rates?": 1. Leeds Building Society
- Asked ChatGPT "Which building society is best for a first-time buyer mortgage?": 1. Nationwide, 2. Coventry Building Society, 3. Yorkshire Building Society
- Searched Google, AI Overview "building society": 1. Nationwide, 2. Yorkshire Building Society, 3. Coventry Building Society
- Searched Google, AI Overview "best building society": 1. Nationwide, 2. Skipton Building Society, 3. Yorkshire Building Society, 4. Coventry Building Society

Not named in any answer: West Brom Building Society, Newcastle Building Society, Principality Building Society and Nottingham Building Society.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 26, 2026.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Nationwide vs Coventry Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/coventry-building-society-vs-nationwide-building-society): 37% against 20.2% Share of Search.
- [Nationwide vs Yorkshire Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/nationwide-building-society-vs-yorkshire-building-society): 37% against 13.6% Share of Search.
- [Nationwide vs Skipton Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/nationwide-building-society-vs-skipton-building-society): 37% against 11.1% Share of Search.
- [Nationwide vs Leeds Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/leeds-building-society-vs-nationwide-building-society): 37% against 9% Share of Search.
- [Coventry Building Society vs Yorkshire Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/coventry-building-society-vs-yorkshire-building-society): 20.2% against 13.6% Share of Search.
- [Coventry Building Society vs Skipton Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/coventry-building-society-vs-skipton-building-society): 20.2% against 11.1% Share of Search.
- [Coventry Building Society vs Leeds Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/coventry-building-society-vs-leeds-building-society): 20.2% against 9% Share of Search.
- [Yorkshire Building Society vs Skipton Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/skipton-building-society-vs-yorkshire-building-society): 13.6% against 11.1% Share of Search.
- [Yorkshire Building Society vs Leeds Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/leeds-building-society-vs-yorkshire-building-society): 13.6% against 9% Share of Search.
- [Skipton Building Society vs Leeds Building Society: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/leeds-building-society-vs-skipton-building-society): 11.1% against 9% Share of Search.

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

- 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.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Nationwide | 37% | 450K | 0.0% | Nationwide |
| 2 | Coventry Building Society | 20.2% | 246K | 0.0% | Coventry Building Society |
| 3 | Yorkshire Building Society | 13.6% | 165K | 0.0% | Yorkshire Building Society |
| 4 | Skipton Building Society | 11.1% | 135K | 0.0% | Skipton Building Society |
| 5 | Leeds Building Society | 9% | 110K | -18.5% | Leeds Building Society |
| 6 | West Brom Building Society | 3.3% | 40.5K | +49.4% | West Brom Building Society |
| 7 | Newcastle Building Society | 2.2% | 27.1K | 0.0% | Newcastle Building Society |
| 8 | Principality Building Society | 2.2% | 27.1K | 0.0% | Principality Building Society |
| 9 | Nottingham Building Society | 1.2% | 14.8K | 0.0% | Nottingham Building Society |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Nationwide | 450K | 35% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Coventry Building Society | 246K | 19.1% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Yorkshire Building Society | 201K | 15.6% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Leeds Building Society | 165K | 12.8% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Skipton Building Society | 110K | 8.5% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | Principality Building Society | 40.5K | 3.1% | 6 |
| Oct 2025 | Newcastle Building Society | 33.1K | 2.6% | 7 |
| Oct 2025 | West Brom Building Society | 27.1K | 2.1% | 8 |
| Oct 2025 | Nottingham Building Society | 14.8K | 1.1% | 9 |
| Nov 2025 | Nationwide | 450K | 36.2% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Coventry Building Society | 246K | 19.8% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Yorkshire Building Society | 201K | 16.2% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Leeds Building Society | 135K | 10.9% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Skipton Building Society | 90.5K | 7.3% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Principality Building Society | 40.5K | 3.3% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | West Brom Building Society | 40.5K | 3.3% | 7 |
| Nov 2025 | Newcastle Building Society | 27.1K | 2.2% | 8 |
| Nov 2025 | Nottingham Building Society | 12.1K | 0.97% | 9 |
| Dec 2025 | Nationwide | 550K | 43.6% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Coventry Building Society | 246K | 19.5% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Yorkshire Building Society | 165K | 13.1% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Leeds Building Society | 110K | 8.7% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Skipton Building Society | 90.5K | 7.2% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Principality Building Society | 33.1K | 2.6% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | Newcastle Building Society | 27.1K | 2.1% | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | West Brom Building Society | 27.1K | 2.1% | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | Nottingham Building Society | 12.1K | 0.96% | 9 |
| Jan 2026 | Nationwide | 550K | 37% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 301K | 20.3% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 201K | 13.5% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 165K | 11.1% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 135K | 9.1% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Principality Building Society | 49.5K | 3.3% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 33.1K | 2.2% | 7 |
| Jan 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 33.1K | 2.2% | 8 |
| Jan 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 18.1K | 1.2% | 9 |
| Feb 2026 | Nationwide | 550K | 44.1% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 201K | 16.1% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 165K | 13.2% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 110K | 8.8% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 110K | 8.8% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Principality Building Society | 40.5K | 3.2% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 33.1K | 2.7% | 7 |
| Feb 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 22.2K | 1.8% | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 14.8K | 1.2% | 9 |
| Mar 2026 | Nationwide | 450K | 31.7% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 301K | 21.2% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 246K | 17.3% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 165K | 11.6% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 135K | 9.5% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Principality Building Society | 40.5K | 2.8% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 33.1K | 2.3% | 7 |
| Mar 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 33.1K | 2.3% | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 18.1K | 1.3% | 9 |
| Apr 2026 | Nationwide | 673K | 37% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 301K | 16.6% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 301K | 16.6% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 201K | 11.1% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 201K | 11.1% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 40.5K | 2.2% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | Principality Building Society | 40.5K | 2.2% | 7 |
| Apr 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 40.5K | 2.2% | 8 |
| Apr 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 18.1K | 1% | 9 |
| May 2026 | Nationwide | 823K | 47.8% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 246K | 14.3% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 246K | 14.3% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 165K | 9.6% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 135K | 7.8% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Principality Building Society | 33.1K | 1.9% | 6 |
| May 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 33.1K | 1.9% | 7 |
| May 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 27.1K | 1.6% | 8 |
| May 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 14.8K | 0.86% | 9 |
| Jun 2026 | Nationwide | 450K | 38.4% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 201K | 17.2% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 201K | 17.2% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 110K | 9.4% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 110K | 9.4% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 33.1K | 2.8% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 27.1K | 2.3% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | Principality Building Society | 27.1K | 2.3% | 8 |
| Jun 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 12.1K | 1% | 9 |
| Jul 2026 | Nationwide | 450K | 38.2% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 246K | 20.9% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 165K | 14% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 110K | 9.3% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 110K | 9.3% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 33.1K | 2.8% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | Principality Building Society | 27.1K | 2.3% | 7 |
| Jul 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 22.2K | 1.9% | 8 |
| Jul 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 14.8K | 1.3% | 9 |
| Aug 2026 | Nationwide | 450K | 36.7% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 246K | 20% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 165K | 13.4% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 135K | 11% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 135K | 11% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 27.1K | 2.2% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | Principality Building Society | 27.1K | 2.2% | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 27.1K | 2.2% | 8 |
| Aug 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 14.8K | 1.2% | 9 |
| Sep 2026 | Nationwide | 450K | 37% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | Coventry Building Society | 246K | 20.2% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | Yorkshire Building Society | 165K | 13.6% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Skipton Building Society | 135K | 11.1% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Leeds Building Society | 110K | 9% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | West Brom Building Society | 40.5K | 3.3% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | Newcastle Building Society | 27.1K | 2.2% | 7 |
| Sep 2026 | Principality Building Society | 27.1K | 2.2% | 8 |
| Sep 2026 | Nottingham Building Society | 14.8K | 1.2% | 9 |

## What is being compared

- **Coventry Building Society**: Measured on the search term “coventry building society”.
- **Leeds Building Society**: Measured on the search term “leeds building society”.
- **Nationwide**: Measured on the search term “nationwide building society”.
- **Newcastle Building Society**: Measured on the search term “newcastle building society”.
- **Nottingham Building Society**: Measured on the search term “nottingham building society”.
- **Principality Building Society**: Measured on the search term “principality building society”.
- **Skipton Building Society**: Measured on the search term “skipton building society”.
- **West Brom Building Society**: Measured on the search term “west bromwich building society”.
- **Yorkshire Building Society**: Measured on the search term “yorkshire building society”.

- [Coventry Building Society](/demand/uk/brands/coventry-building-society)
- [Leeds Building Society](/demand/uk/brands/leeds-building-society)
- [Nationwide](/demand/uk/brands/nationwide-building-society)
- [Newcastle Building Society](/demand/uk/brands/newcastle-building-society)
- [Nottingham Building Society](/demand/uk/brands/nottingham-building-society)
- [Principality Building Society](/demand/uk/brands/principality-building-society)
- [Skipton Building Society](/demand/uk/brands/skipton-building-society)
- [West Brom Building Society](/demand/uk/brands/west-brom-building-society)
- [Yorkshire Building Society](/demand/uk/brands/yorkshire-building-society)

## Methodology

- [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

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

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.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Building societies in the United Kingdom: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/categories/uk-building-societies

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/categories/uk-building-societies. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.