The boards of The Riverside Group and One Housing Group have given their approval for One Housing to join The Riverside Group as a subsidiary.
The merger, which will officially take place on 1 December, will create one of the country’s largest association groups, with over 75,000 homes.
It will also consolidate The Riverside Group’s position as one of the UK’s largest housing association provider of supported housing services.
The agreement follows an intensive six-week customer consultation process across both organisations in which, of those who responded, nearly half were in favour of the proposals, with only 12% against and the remainder being neutral.
Commenting on the development, Carol Matthews CBE, Riverside’s group chief executive, said: “I am absolutely delighted that our respective boards have agreed to proceed with this partnership proposal.
“This marks a key moment in our journey towards the vision we have shared since the outset, which is simply about us being better and stronger together than apart.
“Through this partnership we firmly believe we will be able to do more for our customers, more for our communities, more for our sector, and offer more opportunities for our colleagues.”
Richard Hill, chief executive of One Housing, added: “The journey we’ve taken together over the last ten months has led to us developing a shared vision of the future based on what our customers have told us matters to them.
“Above all it’s been a journey characterised by a real sense of trust and collaboration that’s rooted in our shared belief in the social value of good quality housing.
“Our journey continues, and there’s still a tremendous amount of work to do over the next two years to make our vision a reality.
“However, at this important milestone, we’d like to thank all our colleagues, partners and customers who have contributed to the process.”
The process
The decision to proceed has been taken following an extensive customer consultation exercise, shaped by a joint customer advisory panel comprising tenants and leaseholders of both organisations.
The overall results showed that of the 3,632 customers who responded, 48% were in favour of the proposals, 12% against, with 40% neutral.
Of those expressing a view either way, four times as many were in favour as against.
The results have been presented in full to both boards, including a summary of free text comments made by respondents which will be used to help shape and prioritise service improvements going forward.
Lenders of both organisations have given their approval and a full due diligence process has been undertaken.
Following board consent, the shareholders of One Housing Group have approved the rule changes required for the association to become a subsidiary of The Riverside Group.
These changes will now be registered by the Financial Conduct Authority, a process expected to take around two weeks.
Following this, the new partnership arrangements can come into effect, the expected date being 1 December 2021, when One Housing will join Riverside as a subsidiary for up to two years, retaining its own subsidiary board.
After that, and over a period of up to two years, One Housing and Riverside will work together to integrate into a single housing association with one board and leadership team.
Image: 89stocker/Shutterstock
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