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Genesis and TVH 'disagreed over further mergers'
Genesis wanted to push for further mergers after its deal with Thames Valley Housing (TVH) completed, Inside Housing can reveal.
A proposed 47,000-home merger between Genesis and TVH was cancelled at the eleventh hour last week. The merger, which had received lender consent, was on the verge of being signed off, with a press statement due to be issued on 22 August.
Part of the reason for the merger falling through was that Genesis was keen to seek further associations to merge with once the TVH deal was finalised.
TVH was unhappy with this as it wanted to concentrate in the short-term instead on integrating the new business. It felt any further merger decisions should be down to the board of the newly-merged organisation and should not be pre-empted.
A source close to TVH said that Genesis was too focused on growth for growth’s sake, whereas TVH wanted to merge in order to attract different skills and develop new ways of working.
Although TVH had concerns, it was Genesis that ultimately pulled the plug on the deal and it is understood that some at TVH felt there was not a proper reason given for this.
A Genesis spokesperson said that while the merger was cancelled at a late stage, the board felt it was the right thing to do given “differences in style and approach” which could not be bridged.
On future mergers, the Genesis spokesperson said: “Other merger possibilities should never be off the table.” He said mergers should be about improving customer services and building organisational capacity to get new homes to the market.
He rejected the claim that Genesis was too focused on growth for its own sake, saying the priority was raising customer service standards and making sure that it delivered 3,000 homes per year across different tenures from 2018.
A spokesperson for TVH said it was “regrettable” concerns were raised so late in the day. She said: “Size does not always relate to efficiency and we believed this had been agreed by both boards at the outset.”
“Our belief was that you can’t increase organisational capacity until you have first got that organisation’s processes and culture right.”
The cancellation of the merger is the third major deal to fall apart in the sector in the space of six weeks. Earlier this month, Hyde dropped plans to merge with L&Q and East Thames, while Housing & Care 21 and Sanctuary shelved plans in July following disagreements.
