Three-way housing association merger plan shelved due to economic turbulence

Three housing associations have ended merger talks to create a £374m-turnover landlord, blaming the recent ‘change in economic circumstances’

BPHA, Flagship and Futures in April began discussions about coming together to create a 60,000-home housing association operating in the midlands and east of England. The three believed the move would enable them to provide more homes and improve customer service.

However yesterday afternoon the three announced the talks have now ended, with the organisations saying the “unprecedented” change in the economic environment has undermined the potential of the three to achieve the goals they set themselves.

In a joint statement, the chairs of the three organisations said: “As three individually strong organisations we set ourselves some ambitious goals for a potential new organisation.

“Given the change in economic circumstances over the last six months, achieving these aims is no longer feasible and therefore we have agreed to end the talks. Each of the organisations is well placed to continue to serve their customers effectively and now look forward to supporting each other in the normal course of business.”

Norfolk-based Flagship owns or manages 31,500 homes, while BPHA owns 19,000 home in Bedfordshire while Futures is a 9,000-home association in Leicestershire. The trio built nearly 1,000 homes last year.

The news comes days after Orbit and troubled housing association developer Swan announced their proposed merger talks have ceased. Housing association giant Sanctuary has now opened merger talks with Swan, which last year was found to have breached the Regulator of Social Housing’s governance and viability standard after losing control of development costs.