South East housing association joins Peabody
Peabody has confirmed that South East-based housing association Town & Country Housing has joined the association, in a move aimed at boosting the association’s development capabilities.
It was revealed in November that Peabody would acquire Town & Country Housing, with Town & Country Housing becoming a subsidiary of the 55,000-home association.
Town & Country Housing, which currently owns 9,500 homes across 15 local authorities in Kent and Sussex, will initially become a subsidiary of Peabody.
The acquisition would see Town & Country Housing increase its development pipeline to 800 homes – 500 more than would be possible if the deal was not agreed. It will take Peabody’s overall development pipeline to 3,300 homes per year.
Peabody and Town & Country Housing did not use the phrase ‘merger’ or ‘acquisition’ in their announcement.
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The two organisations have spent the past few months consulting residents and seeking consents of the regulator, lenders and other stakeholders. Consents were officially received yesterday.
As part of the move, Town & Country Housing’s chief executive joins Peabody’s executive team, while the company’s chair, Francis Salway, joins the Peabody board. Town & Country Housing will continue to maintain its own executive team.
In a joint statement, Lord Kerslake, chair of Peabody, and Francis Salway, chair of Town & Country Housing, said: “This move combines the strength of two organisations to deliver more much-needed affordable homes in the South East.”
