Wrekin Housing Group and Housing Plus plan to merge in January

Wrekin Housing Group and Housing Plus Group have agreed to press ahead with their plans to merge.

The boards of the two organisations, which collectively manage around 34,000 homes, will now take the next steps with a formal merger expected to take place in January.

Under the plan, Wrekin will become part of Housing Plus with current Wrekin chief executive Wayne Gethings becoming boss of an enlarged Housing Plus Group. Sarah Boden, chief executive at Housing Plus, will retire.

Telford-based Wrekin has a turnover of £115.8m and manages nearly 14,000 homes, having completed 316 in 2023/24,. Housing Plus, which provides homes in Shropshire and Staffordshire, manages more than 19,000 homes and has a turnover of £101.5m. The pair collectively built nearly 500 homes in their most recent reporting years.

The providers believe the merger will enable them to be more resilient and do more for their residents. The group plans to invest £55m extra in existing homes and play a “leading role in provide affordable housing and care.”

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Gethings said: “Our combined geography will enable the new organisation to maintain its local focus, investing in additional community hubs to take services even closer to customers and maintain strong connections with communities across Shropshire, Staffordshire and Telford & Wrekin.”

Debbie Griffiths, vice-chair designate, said: ““Bringing our two organisations together will enable us to invest more in our existing homes, as well as creating more new homes for our future customers. This is a big moment for all our customers, employees and partners as we look to the future and deliver on our customers priorities.”