The Dudley Building Society (DBS) is to become an introducer to Openwork.

DBS, which previously introduced customers to Legal and General, will now have an introducer agreement that will see Openwork advisers provide full financial planning from within the branches of the building society.

The businesses say this represents the first step in building a wider advice and distribution partnership that will also see the launch of Dudley Financial Solutions as an Appointed Representative (AR) of Openwork.

In combination, this will allow customers of Dudley Building Society to get full access to the products and services offered by the Openwork Group in addition to those already provided by the society.

Mark Duckworth, chief executive officer of Openwork, said: “We are extremely pleased to have secured this partnership with Dudley Building Society, which will allow the many customers of the Society access to a wider product range giving them more opportunity to meet their needs.

“Importantly, having explored many options, Dudley is choosing to set up the new venture with Openwork, a move that clearly endorses our model and demonstrates our appeal to companies wishing to operate as efficiently – and safely – as possible in an increasingly demanding advice environment.”

Jeremy Wood, chief executive of DBS, added: “As a business committed to delivering the best possible proposition to our customers we are thrilled to be enhancing our product offering through this exciting venture with Openwork.

“By launching our partnership with Openwork, we can be sure that not only will our customers enjoy more choice, but that all business written will be safe and compliant – a key driver behind our decision to structure the partnership in this way.”