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Mega-merger cancelled due to 'culture' differences
A merger between two of the biggest care specialist housing associations in the sector has fallen through, just weeks after talks were announced.
Sanctuary Group and older people’s specialist landlord Housing & Care 21 announced last month they were in merger discussions to create a 120,000-home landlord.
However, a statement by 100,000-home Sanctuary today said: “The board felt potential operational synergies were not met by an acceptable cultural fit between the organisations.”
The two organisations were set to create a 32,000-home subsidiary ‘Sanctuary 21’ that would have been the sector’s biggest non-profit older people’s housing in the UK.
Housing and Care 21 said following the findings of a ‘due diligence’ process, it “could not be confident that the conditions set for the merger with Sanctuary, as specified in the agreed Statement of Commitments, would be fulfilled”.
“Sanctuary was clear that it did not regard the Statement of Commitments as being legally binding, so Housing & Care 21 had sought to gain comfort through the due diligence process that these terms for merger would be honoured,” a spokesperson said.
“Unfortunately more doubts than assurances have arisen from this process.”
Sanctuary 21 had been due to build 800 affordable rented older people’s homes a year following the merger.
Sanctuary said it was pursuing alternative merger and acquisition opportunities. Housing and Care 21, which owns and manages 19,000-homes, said it would not be seeking other merger partners and would instead refocus on its own investment programmes.
This story has been updated.
