Merger creates £150m social housing group
SOCIAL housing providers Harvest and Arena have merged to create a £150m turnover group with more than 1,500 employees across the North.
The combined entity, called Your Housing Group, will be based in Warrington. It will be led by chief executive Brian Cronin, the former CEO of Liverpool-based.
Kathy Cowell, the former chair of Manchester’s Harvest, continues in this role at the group, which operates 32.000 homes across the North West, Yorkshire and Midlands.
The rationale behind the merger is to maintain high service levels and achieve efficiencies through scale.
Brian Cronin said; “Today is the start of an exciting new era. Social housing providers are facing tough challenges; with welfare reform, the increasing need for affordable housing, and crucial service cuts for local authorities, the services we deliver are needed more than ever.
“This merger has created a modern organisation that will allow us to better serve and support the people and homes in our communities.”
Kathy Cowell added; “Your Housing Group will truly place people at the heart of everything it does and we are committed to our vision of transforming lives and communities. Through our combined resources we have increased capacity to offer enhanced development opportunities which will meet the needs of the growing housing demand.”
Last year both groups secured 100% of thir bid submissions to the Homes and Communities Agency, jointly worth £20m to create 1,440 new homes.
