The Society was established in 1853 in Skipton, North Yorkshire, as the Co-Operative Steelworkers' Society of Skipton, where it remains headquartered. It is the UK's 4th largest building society and has over 1 million members and 100 branches. Its pre-tax profit was £146.9 million for 2015. The Society has several subsidiary companies, mostly in the financial services industry These include Connells Group, one of the largest estate agency networks in the UK with 542 branches across the country. In 2010, it merged with the Chesham Building Society, founded in 1845, which was at the time the world's oldest surviving building society.