Open doors at Slemish n tha Braid

Although the history of Slemish n tha Braid Credit Union spans more than 20 years, 2015 saw the renovation of the former Raglan bar site into new bespoke offices in a £350k investment in the area.

It has been an exciting time and Office manager Tracy Wallace says: “This past year has been a real whirlwind of activity for everyone at Slemish n tha Braid Credit Union. While we always believed that there was a need for our move to a high street presence, and that our members supported us in the move, we have been truly overwhelmed by the response from the local community since we opened the Raglan for business.”

And this support is reflected by statistics which show that the past 12 months have seen over 400 new members joining and total savings rise by hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone for their trust and support, not least the staff and volunteers of the Credit Union,” says Tracey.

Credit Unions provide financially inclusive services for all, enabling members to save while giving them access to loans with affordable repayments.

“Our down to earth ‘people not profit’ ethos means they can be sure they benefit from being a member. Having our premises allows us to help the community in other ways, as space to hold community meetings, training sessions or host any community targeted roadshows,” Tracey added.

There are also big plans for the rest of the building in the pipeline, with the Raglan Community Development & Renovation Society working towards re-developing the parts not in use by the Credit Union into units for business and community use.

To help celebrate their first anniversary, Slemish n tha Braid are extending an open invitation to everyone, whether members or not, to visit the Raglan this Friday & Saturday (19th & 20th), during opening hours, for a cup of tea, a slice of cake, and a bit of craic!

And as part of their 1st anniversary celebrations, there’s a great prize draw competition starting this week. Supported by MTS Wealth in Belfast, they have 3 tickets to a Liverpool home fixture to give away to one lucky winner. Terms and conditions apply, check website at www.slemishbraidcreditunion.com for details, or find Slemish n tha Braid on their social media platforms.