Press Office

RECORD LENDING FOR SKIPTON GUERNSEY

2004 was a record year for Skipton Guernsey Limited (SGL). According to figures just released gross mortgage lending for the year was just under £62 million.

Nigel Pascoe, Director of Lending at SGL commented, “Despite the UK housing market cooling, following in particular the last two rises in UK Base Rates, demand for property in Guernsey remained strong throughout the whole of 2004. SGL has had a consistent share of almost 20% of house purchase funding since October 2002 when the company purchased Standard Chartered’s mortgage book. With our commitment to customer service and stability of product offering, we are looking forward to continuing our growth in 2005.”

Alan Bougourd, Managing Director, SGL added, “As we look ahead to celebrating our tenth anniversary this year in Guernsey , I am delighted with our results. We are committed to serving both the house purchase and investment needs of the local Guernsey community and are confident that 2005 will be another strong year for us, as we continue to offer a portfolio of consistent, reliable investment and home purchase products.”

Clients interested in knowing more can visit www.skiptonguernsey.com or call +44 (0) 1481 712279.

For further information on Skipton Guernsey please contact:

Guy Stephenson/Deborah Kent

Nacelle Limited

Tel: +44 (0)20 8333 9125

E-mail: info@nacelle.co.uk

Editor's Notes:

Skipton Guernsey Limited (SGL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Skipton Building Society. Deposits made with SGL are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Skipton Building Society, established since 1853, has given an undertaking agreeing to discharge the liabilities of SGL in so far as SGL is unable to discharge them out of its own assets and whilst SGL remains a subsidiary of Skipton Building Society. SGL is licensed under the Banking Supervision (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 1994, as amended and conducts business only in Guernsey; it is not authorised to accept deposits elsewhere. Copies of the latest audited accounts are available on request.