London housing association Network Homes enters merger talks with Sovereign Housing Association
Combined entity would have income of more than £830 million per year
Housing associations Sovereign Housing Association Limited and Network Homes have entered into merger talks (Victoria Jones/PA)
/ PA Archiveousing associations Sovereign Housing Association and Network Homes have entered into merger talks to create a provider that would own 82,000 homes across the South of England and in London.
The two providers said they planned to merge on 1 October, creating a combined entity with annual income of over £830 million.
Network Homes provides housing in London and Hertfordshire, while Sovereign Housing Association operates in a number of counties in the south of England.
They added that the new entity - Sovereign Network Homes - was planning to build 25,000 new homes over the next 10 years.
Sovereign CEO Mark Washer would become the chief executive of the new company, while Network Homes CEO Helen Evans, would deputy chief executive.
“The merger comes at a time when housing associations are facing a challenging economic outlook with rising costs affecting their supply chains and their rents capped by government. At the same time, social housing tenants face high energy and food bills and there is chronic shortage of affordable homes,” Sovereign said.
“According to their business plan, together Sovereign and Network Homes will be well-placed to weather the economic storms and to continue to invest in building safety, technology to improve customer experience and decarbonisation.”