West Brom Building Society in threat to quit its home town

The West Brom Building Society may have to pull out of the town that has been its home for 160 years after a hitch in its plan to move to a new site.

The society is planning to move to new home in the town to replace its ageing 1970s office block in West Bromwich High Street.

But chief executive Jonathan Westhoff said today that Sandwell Council had imposed "a dramatic increase in price" on the deal to move to Providence Place, in the All Saints development.

The society was now looking at alternative sites outside the town.

Mr Westhoff said: "We are committed to West Bromwich but we have a responsibility to our members to look after their money. We are doing everything we can to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion.

"Ideally, we want to move by latest, the middle part of 2014. A move to a new office will take at least 14 months to organise, and we want to build plenty of additional time into that.

But that means we only have a couple of months left to make a decision."

Mr Westhoff said any new home for the West Brom would be in the Black Country. He ruled out offices in Birmingham because of the impact on the society's 500-strong headquarters staff.

The problems arose after ownership of the All Saints site reverted to Sandwell Council from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

Councillor Ian Jones, the authority's cabinet member for jobs and economy, said the last thing the council wanted was for the society to consider moving elsewhere.

He added that the land value was set by an independent district auditor, a valuation which is demanded by law.

He said: "Sandwell Council wants the West Brom Building Society in West Bromwich, and it will do everything it can to make sure the society stays.

"We are in negotiations with the West Brom at the moment. The West Brom are coming back to us with their proposals, and we will take it from there. I'm confident we can reach an agreement."