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Boards agree tie-up to form 82,000-home landlord
The boards of Network Homes and Sovereign have agreed to merge to form Sovereign Network Group (SNG).
The merger was approved on Thursday 7 September following a consultation. Due diligence has been completed, Sovereign said.
SNG will be one of the largest housing associations in the country with more than 82,000 homes, serving more than 210,000 residents across London and the South of England.
The landlord plans to invest around £8.5bn in existing and new homes over the next 10 years, as well as building 2,500 homes a year.
The proposed merger was first announced in March and the top team for the newly merged entity was revealed in July.
Sovereign, the larger landlord, currently manages around 62,000 homes across the South, South West and Isle of Wight. G15 member Network owns around 21,000 homes, primarily in London and Hertfordshire.
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The combined group will have an annual income of more than £830m in 2024-25.
Due to the different geographic areas covered by both organisations, there will be little immediate change for customers, Sovereign said.
Residents will be able to report repairs and request services in the same way as they currently do.
When services are fully integrated, SNG will continue to be “locally responsive” and deliver services “in different ways in different places”.
Mark Washer, current boss at Sovereign, will become chief executive of SNG.
He said: “Bringing these two great organisations together will enable us to invest in creating more homes, and better homes for our current and future customers.
“Combined, we will be a leader in delivering sustainable and affordable housing, including for social rent, as well as investment in communities. We are already seeing the potential for our complementary skills and experience to help us deliver better for each of our customers.”
Helen Evans, chief executive of Network Homes, will become deputy chief executive of SNG.
She said: “I will be overseeing the transition, and significant work is now underway to ensure we will have the right structures, systems, and processes to deliver for customers from 1 October onwards. I’m looking forward to working with Mark, our new executive board and colleagues in ensuring the new organisation is a success.”
In June, Sovereign’s governance rating returned to G1, after it was downgraded a year ago because of issues regarding its health and safety data. It retained its V2 status for financial viability.
In January last year, Sovereign breached the Home Standard for failing to have clear records of whether a fire risk assessment was required in the communal areas of 2,000 of its blocks.
Update: at 03.50pm, 11.09.23
This story was updated to correct a line about the due diligence of the merger. Due diligence has already taken place and will not take place at the start of next month, as previously stated.
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