Gardner is the second longest-serving chief executive in the building society sector, and has worked at Newbury BS for 35 years in total.

He will be succeeded by Phillippa Cardno, currently operations and sales director of the mutual. 

During his tenure as chief executive, Gardner has seen Newbury’s assets grow from £564m to £1.4bn, and reserves rise from £29m to £88m over the same period. 

Gardner says: “Newbury Building Society is an extremely well-capitalised and growing society. Our financial results in recent years have outstripped those of our peers in the sector.

“Our borrowers have benefitted from our pragmatic approach to the adoption of increasingly tough regulation, in particularly in our approach to helping first-time buyers on to the ladder.”

Newbury BS chairman Peter Brickley said Gardner had helped make Newbury a “larger, strong and a more profitable society”, despite facing the challenges of the financial crisis and pandemic during his tenure.