THE head of Cheltenham & Gloucester, the first British building society to be bought by a bank, praised the benefits of its plc status as it announced profits for the first six months of the year.

C&G, which was taken over by Lloyds Bank last year, made £160.8 million sterling before tax, compared with £119.3 million in the last five months of 1995 after its takeover.

"We have demonstrated that it is possible to produce good returns for our shareholder and to give the customer a good ideal - indeed one depends on the other," said chief executive Mr Andrew Longhurst. Bank of Ireland has agreed to acquire the Bristol and West building society for £600 million.