London HA in talks over 32,000-home merger

News24 Sep 2018Gavriel Hollander

Catalyst Housing, a member of the G15 group of leading London housing associations, is set to expand its footprint in the Home Counties through a proposed merger with Aldwyck Housing Group.

handshake-merger-deal.jpg

Sharelines

Catalyst proposes merger with Aldwyck #ukhousing

Talks over a tie-up, which would create a 32,000-home landlord, come after it was announced in July that current Aldwyck chief executive Ian McDermott would take over from retiring Catalyst chief executive Rod Cahill in January 2019.

If talks are successful, Aldwyck will join Catalyst as a subsidiary “early in the new financial year”.

Catalyst currently has plans to build 1,000 homes a year by 2020, but the combination with Aldwyck would take its development pipeline to 1,300 homes per year.

The smaller association has 11,000 homes under management in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

Richard Brown, chair of Catalyst, said the merger “will increase the supply of much-needed homes in London and the Home Counties with our combined intention of building at least 1,300 homes each year.

Mr Brown added: “Beyond the geographical synergies, a unified Catalyst and Aldwyck would be in a strong position to build on existing shared core strengths in development, regeneration and place-making, and by pooling our experiences and resources to make faster progress in our journey to provide really excellent service to our residents. Most encouragingly, Aldwyck shares our values and our deep social purpose to provide homes for those who need them most.”

Pat Billingham, chair of Aldwyck, said: “We believe that the proposed merger with Catalyst will enable us to accelerate the delivery of more much-needed new homes in the communities we serve. Our organisations share common aims, values and cultures and by joining forces we can create an enhanced offer for our customers, as well as increased career development opportunities for colleagues.”

In its accounts for 2017/18, Catalyst revealed a pre-tax surplus of £54.7m, while Aldwyck generated a surplus of £22m over the same period.