A TROUBLED housing trust has offered reassurances that investment programmes like The Parade at Blacon and the shot tower regeneration scheme will be protected if a merger goes through.
Cosmopolitan Housing Group (CHG), which owns Chester & District Housing Trust, has a financial position described as giving rise to ‘serious concern’ by the social housing regulator.
There had been hopes of a merger with Liverpool-based Riverside Housing, which was described as a rescue deal, but this came to nought.
Now a merger looks set to take place with Worcester-based Sanctuary Housing in a move backed by Cheshire West and Chester Council last week who are in partnership with Cosmopolitan on several regeneration projects.
CHG spokesman Phil Brotherhood confirmed: ‘Everything we are working with the council on – that’s all happening.”
There was reason for concern after CHG withdrew from Extra Care housing projects for the elderly at the former Woodfield school in Newton, part of Highfield school site in Blacon and the former Gorsthills school in Great Sutton.
It is anticipated the schemes, due to be completed by April 2015, will now be developed by other social landlords.
CHG chief executive John Denny said: “Members of Cheshire West & Chester Council voted in favour last week of an approach set out jointly by Sanctuary and Cosmopolitan which represents a step forward in the two organisations’ discussions around a potential merger. However, there is still more work to be done and negotiations are on-going.”
The latest move follows the Riverside Board’s decision, at the end of the due diligence process, that it could not give CHG the unconditional merger offer it requested due to ongoing uncertainty over the scale of the potential risk around the student homes leases.
Riverside chose to exit the student homes market in 2010 and the potential level of risk in a non-core market was a serious area of concern.
As a result, CHG invited Sanctuary Group, as a strong alternative partner, with a large student homes portfolio, to submit merger proposals. Sanctuary is a large national social housing provider.
