Housing Plus Group and Stafford and Rural Homes have officially merged today (1 October 2019), launching a new housing, care and property group for Staffordshire and Shropshire.
The merged Group comprises landlords Severnside Housing, South Staffordshire Housing Association and Stafford and Rural Homes. It also includes Care Plus, one of the region’s leading providers of housing care and support for older people and Severn Homes which specialises in private sector housing for rent, sale and shared ownership, along with repairs and planned maintenance specialists Property Plus and Housing Worx.
The Group will own and manage approximately 18,000 homes across a wide operational area. Employing up to 800 people locally, it will have an annual turnover of almost £100m.
Housing Plus Group has pledged to begin building 2,000 new homes for rent, shared ownership and outright sale by 2023. It is committed to delivering one-third more hours of care and support so that older people can continue to live independently, in their own homes and to creating 100 new apprenticeships in the Group and its supply chain within the next five years. It has also made a promise to remain accountable to its customers, with a customer voice at board level.
The launch of the new Group was marked with the announcement it will be joining regional partners to combat some of the biggest challenges facing the housing sector. As part of the influential Creating Our Future programme, Housing Plus Group will access match funding to invest in ground-breaking projects such as Hacking Homelessness which will help housing associations to support people at risk of eviction.
Housing specialist law firm, Anthony Collins Solicitors, acted as joint advisor on the merger, uniting both parties using a collaborative legal approach.
Gemma Bell, Partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors, said:
“This merger is set to have a huge impact at local level. By increasing capacity and sharing skills, Housing Plus Group and Stafford and Rural Homes will be able to expand their services, improving more people’s lives.
“Both organisations share a commitment to putting the community first – a belief that as a firm we echo through our social purpose. We look forward to supporting the Group as it enters this exciting new chapter.”
Chief executive Sarah Boden celebrated the first day of the merged group with staff at the Stafford and Rural Homes office in Beaconside, Stafford. She said:
“Separately, our organisations do fantastic work in our communities. Together, we will do more. We are setting out today with a very clear objective to change lives, shape communities and create real opportunities for the employees who make that possible.”
Video
In this short film chief executive Sarah Boden, along with Housing Plus Group chair Alison Hadden and some of people working in the merged group, explain what the launch of the new housing group means to them, to our customers and to local communities.
Photograph
Housing Plus Group chief executive Sarah Boden (centre) is pictured celebrating the launch of the new group with Hayley Murphy, independent living manager at Stafford and Rural Homes and William Douglas, apprentice bricklayer.