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Southern Housing Group boosts presence by adding 700-home landlord
Southern Housing Group (SHG) has agreed a deal to take on a small Surrey-based association as a subsidiary as it ups its presence in the county as well as in Sussex.
The 28,000-home G15 landlord announced that 700-home Crown Simmons will be joining the group from today (1 April).
SHG plans to build around 1,000 new homes in Surrey and Sussex over the “next few years” as part of a growth strategy to have more affordable homes in “key strategic areas”.
Alan Townshend, chief executive of SHG, said the two organisations are “culturally and strategically... a great fit”.
Crown Simmons, which will retain its name, formed from a merger between Crown and Rosemary Simmons Memorial Housing Association in 2014.
The Esher-based landlord operates across Surrey, Sussex and London, and serves around 1,000 residents.
In its last full-year to the end of March 2018, Crown Simmons reported a surplus of £4.3m on a turnover of £4.1m. Its surplus was boosted by the sale of a sheltered housing scheme in Islington.
A spokesperson for SHG told Inside Housing that there are “no current plans” for redundancies at Crown Simmons as a result of the deal and its leadership team will remain the same.
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Paul Yates, chief executive Crown Simmons, branded the deal a “great next step” for the association.
“We will have all the advantages of being part of a larger organisation with access to systems and teams that will bring efficiencies and investment in homes and services to our residents in Surrey,” he added.
Full integration of the two organisations is expected to complete by the end of the year.
SHG also revealed last month that it was adding 488 homes to its development pipeline in London and the South East of England after agreeing deals on six new projects.
The London-based landlord reported a 14% slide in surplus in its last full-year due to increased spending on fire safety.
