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Former Catalyst chief joins Blackstone-owned housing provider
The former chief executive of Catalyst has been appointed interim chief executive of Sage Housing, which is owned by US private equity giant Blackstone.
Rod Cahill announced his retirement from the position at Catalyst, a member of the G15 group of large London housing associations, in April last year.
He has now taken over at Sage from Joe Cook, who set up Sage as a for-profit registered provider with funds from Blackstone and grew it to have a pipeline of 8,000 new homes. It still plans to deliver 20,000 homes over five years.
The for-profit stunned the sector when it launched in January last year backed by funds from Blackstone, a New-York based multinational with an asset base expected to soon exceed $500bn.
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Sage’s strategy has been to buy the affordable homes that developers are required to build under Section 106 agreements across the UK.
It has signed a partnership agreement with large housing association Places for People, which is currently managing its homes.
As well as Sage Housing, Blackstone has financed a sister organisation, Sage Partnerships, which will look to partner with landowners and fund new build developments.
Alison Thain, chair of Sage, said: “It is a testament to Sage Housing, and Joe Cook’s achievements, specifically building Sage from scratch, that we have been able to attract someone of Rod’s calibre and experience.
“He is uniquely qualified to take Sage Housing forward given his 35-year career in the industry. I would like to thank Joe for his commitment to Sage and look forward to working with Rod to take Sage Housing forward into its next phase of growth.”
While Mr Cahill was at Catalyst, the organisation grew from a 2,000-home housing association to a social landlord with more than 30,000 homes.
On his appointment, Mr Cahill said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to use my experience to support Sage build on its success to date and to work with a team of professionals who are proud and driven in their commitment to help address the affordable housing crisis in the UK.”
Mr Cook added: “I am immensely proud of what the dedicated and enthusiastic team at Sage Housing has achieved over the past two years and look forward to see it continue to grow and deliver much-needed new affordable homes.”
