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Metropolitan and Thames Valley in partnership talks
London housing associations Metropolitan and Thames Valley Housing (TVH) have begun formal talks to form a partnership.
Geeta Nanda, chief executive of Metropolitan, is chief executive designate of the proposed future organisation. Ms Nanda was chief executive of TVH until September last year, when she left to join Metropolitan.
While at TVH, Ms Nanda led the organisation into merger talks with Genesis, which fell through at the last minute.
Metropolitan and TVH manage or administer more than 57,000 homes between them in London, the South East, the East Midlands and the East of England.
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One aim for the partnership is to get overall development up to 2,000 homes a year.
This would be an increase of more than a third from the combined output of the two organisations from 2016/17, which was 1,446 homes, according to Inside Housing’s Biggest Builders survey.
It is also intended to improve services for existing residents, support investment in local communities, become a financially stronger group and attract the best talent in the sector.
Asked whether this was a proposed merger, a Metropolitan spokesperson said: “We have not yet confirmed the legal structure of the proposed partnership.
“So in the meantime we think ‘proposed partnership’ better describes the way in which we want to work together as we move forward.”
Ms Nanda said: “Metropolitan and Thames Valley Housing are two like-minded organisations with complementary strengths.
“We both have strong track records of investing in communities and are excited by the potential to reach more people and change more lives for the better. Together, we will be stronger and more resilient, with the capacity to do much more.”
Paula Kahn, chair of Metropolitan, said: “There’s agreement and accord between the boards of Metropolitan and Thames Valley Housing, and things are progressing well.
“Both boards believe that there is a lot of common ground between the two housing associations in terms of their vision and values, and this will form a firm foundation for the discussions which are to follow.”
Update: at 13.31 on 16.1.18
This story was updated to make clear the source of the figure for the 2016/17 combined output of Metropolitan and TVH.
Update: at 10.52 on 17.1.18
This story was updated to correct the date of Ms Nanda leaving TVH.
