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Retiring chief executive to stay on for three-way merger talks
The chief executive of a housing association involved in a potential three-way merger has decided to stay on while talks are ongoing.
Kevin Bolt, chief executive of BPHA, was due to retire from the organisation in May, but will now remain in the role for the duration of the discussions and transition to a potential merger with Futures Housing Group and Flagship Group.
Earlier this month, the housing associations announced that merger talks had started.
If it goes ahead, the merger would create a 60,000-home landlord and would operate across the East and Central England, becoming the largest provider in that area.
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Eddie Kelly, director of external affairs at BPHA, said: “Kevin accepted a request from the BPHA board earlier this year to remain as CEO for the duration of the talks and the transition to a potential new organisation.
“If, for any reason, the partnership talks stop, Kevin will support the board through the appointment process for his successor.”
The landlords have said the talks are exploratory so far and would be subject to each association’s board.
They said the merger could boost social housing provision and services in the region.
Flagship is the largest partner of the three associations, owning and managing 32,000 homes, mainly in the East of England.
The potential new merger follows Flagship bringing 3,000-home Suffolk Housing Society under its name in January 2020. This came after Flagship merged with 5,000-home landlord Victory Homes in January 2019.
Bedford-based BPHA owns and manages more than 19,500 homes, mainly around Cambridge, Oxford and Bedfordshire.
Futures Housing owns and manages more than 10,000 homes, from Derbyshire in the East Midlands down to Daventry.
The potential merger is the latest in a growing trend among housing associations.
Catalyst and Peabody completed a merger deal that would create a new 104,000-home landlord.
Optivo and Southern Housing Group are also currently in talks over a partnership that will create a 77,000-home landlord.
