L&Q set to buy Trafford Housing Trust

L&Q is to buy Trafford Housing Trust in a deal that the two housing associations have said will unlock billions of pounds-worth of investment in the North-west of England.

Announcing the acquisition, financial details of which were not revealed, L&Q’s chief executive David Montague said Sale-based THT would act as a gateway to the region, where L&Q wanted to build more homes for social rent.

L&Q and THT said they would “work closely with local authorities in the North-west to ensure that both new and existing homes meet local needs, including homes for the over-55s and for those with specialist needs”.

The deal is expected to complete in June this year, subject to the usual caveats around due diligence, customer consultation and the creation of a five-year business plan.

THT, which operates 9,000 homes, has been in a joint venture with L&Q for two years, starting construction on 679 homes with another 1,493 in the pipeline.

The two housing associations said the deal would unlock £4bn of investment in the North-west through the pair building 20,000 homes in the next decade, at least half of which would be affordable.

L&Q planned to extend its Home Standard to THT’s homes, with £2m invested in improvements as its homes come up for re-let, including modernising programmes, repainting and new carpets.

L&Q already invests £225m annually across its 90,000-strong portfolio.

While there would be no compulsory redundancies as a “direct result of the acquisition”, L&Q said, it expected there would be savings “by removing duplication and increasing efficiencies”.

It did not say where these might be achieved, although in a statement L&Q said: “While both organisations will benefit from overhead savings by removing duplication and operational synergies, the primary driver for the acquisition is increased capacity for investment and growth.

“Both organisations are in the process of putting together a detailed plan for this, and we expect to deliver efficiencies in areas including procurement and technology.”

Based in London, L&Q said the capital and surrounding areas would remain a major focus for growth. But the THT deal would give it access to the North-west and would play a key part in its ability to deliver 100,000 new homes over the next 10 years.

Larry Gold, THT’s acting chief executive, said that being part of L&Q would enable it to make a significant social impact in the North-west “and strive to find solutions to the national housing crisis”.