Stonewater set to acquire Mount Green

Stonewater looks set to acquire Surrey-based housing association Mount Green early next year.

The 36,000-home association announced this morning that both boards have approved the takeover.

The intended date for the move to complete is 31 January 2024, subject to lender consents.

Mount Green was founded 60 years ago and owns and manages 1,600 properties in Surrey and North Sussex. 

The 36,000-home Stonewater Group housing association first announced its intention to acquire Mount Green in August.

“Joining the Stonewater Group would offer Mount Green stronger financial security that will enable us to better guarantee our investment plans to make improvements to our existing homes,” Bill Flood, chief executive at Mount Green, said in a statement at the time. 

Nicholas Harris, chief executive at Stonewater, said: “With an ongoing housing crisis, post-Brexit impacts on supply chains and costs, as well as the climate emergency and the need to drive up customer standards, this partnership offers us the chance to enhance what we do now, and to bolster our future ambitions.”

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In November, Stonewater reported a 43% drop in its overall surplus for the first half of the year.  It reported a surplus of £12.2m for the first six months to 30 September, down on the 21.4m posted in the same period last year.

Its accounts also revealed Stonewater is planning to acquire 370 homes from Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, with chief financial officer Anne Costain explaining that the association is continuing to grow ”through partnerships and home purchases.”