On 20th April 2022 Grainne Cuffe wrote in inside housing about the Retiring Chief Executive to stay for more for three-way merger talks. According to her,
While merger talks are ongoing, the CEO of a housing organisation participating in a prospective three-way merger has elected to stay on.
The CEO of a housing organisation that is part of a prospective three-way merger has decided to stay on while talks continue. Kevin Bolt, the BPHA’s chief executive, was set to leave the company in May, but will now stay on for the remainder of the talks and transition to a possible merger with Futures Housing Group and Flagship Group.
The housing associations revealed earlier this month that merger talks had begun.
If the merger goes through, it will create a 60,000-home landlord that will operate across East and Central England, making it the largest provider in the region.
“Kevin accepted a request from the BPHA board earlier this year to remain as CEO for the duration of the talks and the transition to a potential new organisation,” Eddie Kelly, director of external affairs at BPHA, said.
“If the partnership talks break down for whatever reason, Kevin will assist the board in appointing his replacement.”
The landlords have stated that the discussions are still exploratory and will be subject to the approval of each association’s board of directors.
They claimed that the merger will help the region’s social housing and service offerings.
Flagship is the largest of the three organisations, with 32,000 houses owned and managed, mostly in the East of England.
The proposed new merger comes after Flagship acquired the 3,000-home Suffolk Housing Society in January 2020. This came after Flagship amalgamated with Victory Homes, a 5,000-home landlord, in January 2019.
BPHA, situated in Bedford, owns and maintains around 19,500 properties, mostly in Cambridge, Oxford, and Bedfordshire.
From Derbyshire in the East Midlands to Daventry, Futures Housing owns and administers over 10,000 dwellings.
The possible merger is the most recent example of a growing trend among housing associations.
Catalyst and Peabody have completed a merger that will result in a new landlord with 104,000 homes.
Optivo and Southern Housing Group are also in the process of forming a joint venture that will result in the creation of a 77,000-home landlord.