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Two associations enter merger talks to form 37,000-home landlord
Longhurst and Grand Union Housing have entered merger talks to form a potential 37,000-home landlord.
Longhurst Group and Grand Union Housing Group announced on Wednesday that they were exploring a proposal that would lead to them coming together before the end of the year.
Combined, the groups own and manage over 37,000 homes and employ more than 1,400 staff members across the Midlands and East of England.
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The landlords said their boards had approved a business case that “unlocks significant potential to invest even more in their existing homes and neighbourhoods”, and “deliver 5,000 much-needed new homes” over the next five years.
The two providers will now enter a period of due diligence and consult residents about the potential change.
Julie Doyle, chief executive of Longhurst, said the group had a “strong existing relationship with Grand Union Housing Group, with whom we share similar visions and values, as well as geographic footprints and growth aspirations”.
She added: “We feel that both organisations have complementing strengths as well as areas that can be further improved by coming together, which would give us the opportunity to learn from each other and, ultimately, deliver the best possible service for our customers.
“There is still a lot of work to be done. However, both organisations believe there is a strong case for coming together and we are excited by the potential that this move would represent.”
Aileen Evans, chief executive of Grand Union, added: “Both ourselves and Longhurst Group are well governed and built on solid financial foundations, and we believe that we’d be even stronger together as a larger organisation and have more resilience to respond to a challenging operating environment.
“We are exploring this from a position of strength, and this presents an exciting opportunity for both organisations to take proactive steps in ensuring we’re well placed for the future.
“As one organisation, we could better realise our aims for the future; specifically, to speed up improvements in our homes, provide enhanced services and build more homes.”
Longhurst is graded G1/V2 by the Regulator of Social Housing, while Grand Union has top grades of G1/V1.
In a trading update in November, Longhurst revealed it had achieved a net surplus of £6.4m in the first half of this year, but warned planned spending on maintenance will have an “adverse impact” on this figure in future.
In March, Grand Union acquired just under 140 homes from Clarion. The homes were made up of those for social, intermediate and affordable rent, as well as shared ownership.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Wrekin Housing Group and Housing Plus Group were in merger talks which, if agreed, will result in a new 32,000-home landlord.
