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Associations complete 55,000-home merger
Two large Southern housing associations have completed their merger to create a new 55,000-home landlord.
Sovereign and Spectrum yesterday formally merged after talks stretching back to 2015.
The new organisation will retain the name Sovereign, with Sovereign chief executive Ann Santry keeping her role. Spectrum will no longer exist as a distinct housing association under the new structure, but its maintenance company Spectrum Property Care will remain as a subsidiary.
Richard Hill, former chief executive of Spectrum, will become deputy chief executive.
“It’s a new beginning, but those long-standing commitments to supporting our communities and building homes hasn’t changed,” Ms Santry said.
The merger puts the organisation among the top 10 largest in the country in terms of stock owned, and will create a business with a combined turnover of £353.3m based on last year’s results.
Sovereign previously owned and managed 38,000 homes, while Spectrum owned 17,000 homes and managed a further 45,000 through its maintenance company, Spectrum Property Care.
Former chairs Richard Organ and John Simpson have stood down with a new independent chair, Katherine Innes Ker, appointed to take the new business forward.
The new organisation is targeting £10m saving per year from year three. It plans to build 15,000 new properties over the next 10 years.
