Merger completes to create 32,000-home South East group
Catalyst and Aldwyck have officially completed their merger today, creating an organisation with 32,000 homes across London and the South East.
Picture: Getty
Sharelines
Under the new merged structure, for which talks were announced in September, smaller organisation Aldwyck becomes a subsidiary of Catalyst.
The two providers will “integrate fully” over the coming months and become a “dual-regional organisation, spanning London and the South East”, Catalyst said today.
The addition sees Catalyst, which is a member of the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations, further expand its presence in the Home Counties. Aldwyck brings 11,000 homes under management in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Aldwyck launched a consultation with tenants into the merger in October, stating that the merged organisation “would retain a regional structure to continue to provide a locally focused service”.
The combined group now owns and manages 32,000 homes and has stated an ambition to deliver 1,300 homes a year by 2022.
Ian McDermott, chief executive of Catalyst, who took over from former incumbent Rod Cahill in January this year, is the former chief executive of Aldwyck.
The group announced its new executive structure in February. Mr McDermott is joined by new permanent recruits Sarah Thomas, chief operating officer, and Tim Jennings, executive director of finance, alongside a number of other appointments.
Commenting on today’s merger, Pat Billingham, vice-chair of Catalyst and former chair of Aldwyck, said: “We are delighted that Aldwyck has today become part of the Catalyst group.
“At a time when the housing crisis is almost daily headline news, our combined strength and expertise will enable us to fulfil our shared ambition to provide more homes to meet the housing need in our newly enlarged geographical area.
“We have ambitious plans which we believe will benefit our customers and our staff.”
Richard Brown, chair of Catalyst, said: “I have been greatly impressed by the Aldwyck team over the last few months. I am delighted to welcome our new colleagues to the Catalyst family, and I look forward to building even stronger business together.
“Beyond our geographical synergies and business ambition, it is clear we have shared values and are similarly driven by the same social purpose to provide homes for those that need them most.
“This merger means we can use our combined strengths and pool our experience and resources to make faster progress in our goal to provide more homes and excellent service to our residents.”
Catalyst told Social Housing that it is the agreed plan for Aldwyck to transfer its engagemet fully into Catalyst within two years. Asked whether there would be any redundancies, a spokesperson said: "This is a merger borne out of opportunity and ambition rather than restriction and as we fully merge our intention is to try and do this without any compulsory redundancies."
- © Social Housing
- All rights reserved