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Abri announces merger talks with London landlord
Housing association Abri has announced it is in partnership discussions with a London-based landlord.
Today, the South of England-based landlord, which manages a total of around 50,000 homes, said it is exploring options for a formal partnership with Octavia Housing.
Octavia, a 5,000-home association, said its board had chosen Abri as its preferred potential partner after an extensive selection process co-ordinated by Savills.
Prior to the final business case, both landlords have agreed to collaborate on some of Octavia’s immediate priorities.
Octavia, which currently has a G3/V3 rating, was placed on the Regulator of Social Housing’s gradings under review list in March.
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The association was also downgraded by credit ratings agency S&P to a BBB+ in December. The agency said it believed Octavia had “limited capacity to mitigate the effects of cost overruns, high inflation, rising interest rates and the government-imposed rent cap”.
Wayne Morris, group chair at Abri, said: “We were pleased to be given the opportunity to develop a potential partnership with Octavia. We have enormous respect for their 150-year heritage.
“Given our adjoining geographies and shared ambition, the partnership offers a potentially strong strategic fit. The deal could unlock greater investment in housing and support services, as well as protect the long-term provision of some 5,000 social and affordable homes in London.”
Centrus are Abri’s retained treasury advisor and will be advising the landlord on the merger.
Gary Orr, group chief executive of Abri, said this latest deal is about leveraging the benefits of scale, while making sure local teams are accountable for delivering services.
He added: “When Octavia invited us to be part of discussions about their future, we were attracted to the opportunity to support an organisation that is so important to the housing profession as we navigate the new regulatory framework. [It also] has a common purpose that prioritises the needs of existing and future customers and offers potential synergy within our regional operating model.
“Joining forces has the potential to create a new vision for an even stronger organisation to carry forward Octavia Hill’s legacy. More work needs to be done but we are excited about the prospect of a long-term partnership with Octavia Housing.”
Just last month, Abri completed another merger with Silva Homes to form a 50,000-home landlord.
Earlier this year, Inside Housing reported that Abri had delivered what it said was a record total of 1,017 new homes in the 2022-23 financial year.
