FORMER building society Bradford and Bingley has announced plans to close 68 branches with the loss of 300 jobs, as it reported a 25 per cent increase in full-year profits.

The group, which floated on the Stock Exchange in December, said the branch closures were part of its aim to continue to control its administration costs.

It is to close 57 estate agency branches and 11 former building society branches, and will integrate a number of its outlets. The network will still contain more than 500 branches.

It refused to comment on the likely effect on jobs, or which branches would close. The branch closure plans came as Bradford and Bingley said pre-tax profits for the year to the end of December, stripping out one-off costs, jumped 25 per cent to a record £231m.

Christopher Rodrigues, chief executive, said: "We delivered a strong financial performance in 2000. Despite the demands of the conversion process, we put in place many of the building blocks needed to support our evolution from a mutual manufacturer of lending and savings products into an innovative, growing distributor of a wide range of financial services."

Bob Goodall, coordinator of Save Our Building Societies, said: "We are angry but not surprised - demutualisation leads to job losses and branch closures in order to maximise profits for shareholders."