People and Business: A mutual withdrawal

THE PRESSURE group Save Our Building Societies (SOBS) has withdrawn its High Court action against Birmingham Midshires Building Society, thereby removing the last obstacle to the takeover of the mutual by the very much demutualised Halifax plc.

Bob Goodall, co-ordinator of the pro-mutual SOBS, said: "I recognise I have a personal difficulty in giving up. However, hard as it is, I have to let Midshires go."

Mr Goodall faced personal bankruptcy because of legal fees if he lost the case. "It was too much of a risk to save one building society when there are 69 others which may need to be campaigned for at some time in the future," he said, bravely.