Principality Building Society’s Chairman Laurie Adams has announced he is to step down in April 2021 as part of the board’s succession plan.

Mr Adams has served as chair for seven of the eight years he has been on the board and has overseen a hugely successful period in the Society’s history. The search to appoint his successor will begin immediately.

Mr Adams said: “I’m so proud and privileged to have been part of this special organisation. Our business has grown from a balance sheet of £5bn to £10bn in the past eight years and has enabled us to grow our mortgage business.

To double the size of our business over this period is a real achievement of which we should all feel very proud. We have provided thousands of mortgages to first time buyers over the period and I’m especially proud of how we helped to transform Ely Mill from an old brownfield site to provide hundreds of new affordable houses.

“It’s also been a great pleasure to see Principality named as one of the best places to work in the UK, and watch the outstanding work it does on financial education to help thousands of children in Wales.

“It is a good time to make my announcement and search as Julie Ann has now stepped up into her new role as CEO and we have a very strong board and management team in place. I’m sure Principality will continue to go from strength to strength and I want to thank all of our colleagues for their hard work and wish them every success in the future.”

Julie Ann Haines, CEO at Principality Building Society said: “Laurie has played a big part in overseeing our plans to grow the business and the outstanding customer service we continue to provide. His wealth of experience and knowledge has helped us to achieve this. We are grateful for everything he has done for our members and colleagues during his time at Principality and wish him all the best for the future.”