Longhurst Group and Grand Union Housing Group have entered talks over a potential merger.
The groups, which, combined, currently own and manage over 37,000 homes and employ over 1,400 colleagues across the Midlands and East of England, are exploring a proposal that would see them come together before the end of the year.
The housing associations’ respective Boards have approved a business case that unlocks significant potential to invest more in existing homes and neighbourhoods and deliver 5,000 new homes over the next five years.
The new organisation would be one of the largest housing associations in the region.
Longhurst Group’s Chief Executive Julie Doyle said: “We have a strong existing relationship with Grand Union Housing Group, with whom we share similar visions and values as well as our geographic footprints and growth aspirations.
“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.”
The two organisations will now enter a period of due diligence and will consult customers about the potential change.
Grand Union CEO, Aileen Evans, 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.”
