Johnnie Johnson Housing to join Sanctuary

Johnnie Johnson Housing to join Sanctuary

Becoming a subsidiary will allow for more investment in both existing and new homes 

Johnnie Johnson Housing (JJH) are set to join with fellow not-for-profit housing association Sanctuary, following approval from both organisations’ Boards for JJH to become a subsidiary.

Following due diligence, the results of which were presented to the Boards for consideration, a joint announcement of the deal was made on Monday 27 November.

JJH provide affordable homes across the UK’s northern regions and currently have a portfolio of almost 5000 homes. Sanctuary, who provide housing and care across England and Scotland, own and manage around 120,000 units of accommodation.

 The completion of the merger will now be subject to obtaining the appropriate consents from the organisations’ lenders. 

Speaking about the new partnership, Sanctuary’s group chief executive Craig Moule said: “Not-for-profit housing and care providers deliver a vital public service to society – we invest in maintaining and improving housing stock, provide a security of tenure that is affordable, develop new affordable homes and deliver good-quality care.  

“There is space for organisations of any size in our sector and there are many organisations who provide excellent services to a single community, or a small number of neighbouring communities, but do not have the capacity to make significant investment in their existing homes or develop new homes.  

“As one of the largest providers in the sector, we use our size and strength to invest and develop, to be efficient, while maintaining local, community-focused services.” 

Yvonne Castle, Johnnie Johnson Housing chief executive, added: “We always look to provide the best possible service and make sure we are focused on what matters most for our residents – providing homes that they love to live in. 

“We always want to do more. We are ambitious as experts in the field of providing homes and services, including Astraline’s Technology Enabled Care, for older residents. We know that through joining Sanctuary we will be able fulfil our ambitions and invest more in our residents’ homes than we could on our own. 

“As always, the interests of our own residents and those of Sanctuary will remain our top priority.” 

Yvonne Castle will leave her role in December, with Kathryn Fox-Rogers to lead the JJH subsidiary in the role of managing director. 

Castle added: “I have built a hugely positive relationship with Craig and his colleagues over the last nine months and firmly believe the merger will benefit both organisations. It has been an absolute honour and a privilege to be JJH’s leader and I know that our residents and our colleagues are in great hands as the two organisations move forward together.” 

Magenta secures funding for more affordable homes and carbon zero goals

Magenta secures funding for more affordable homes and carbon zero goals

Magenta Living is set to build more than 1000 new affordable homes over the next five years, after securing a £137 million funding package from NatWest. The funds will also enable the Wirral-based housing association to commence its transition to being a carbon zero housing provider.

The affordable housing landlord currently owns 13,000 homes across the North West and is the largest housing association in the Wirral with more than 600 employees.

Magenta’s growth plans include carrying out maintenance work on existing homes as well as growing their portfolio to increase affordable housing levels across the region.

The funding from NatWest will also enable Magenta Living to progress its climate change strategy. This involves a 30-year commitment from the business to help tackle climate change through methods such as using electric vehicles, improving local green spaces, tackling fuel poverty and improving the energy performance of their housing portfolio.

The bank has attributed environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals to £75 million of the company’s loan facilities, helping Magenta Living to work towards the Government’s zero carbon homes target by 2050.

Ann Monk, executive director of finance at Magenta, said: “We aim to enhance local communities and help people access a better quality of life through the provision of improved homes for affordable renting.

“Ultimately, we serve local communities in the North West region by building properties that create genuine social value, and this funding package from NatWest is helping us bring this vision to life.

“The bank’s backing is assisting us as we move towards our target of becoming a carbon zero organisation by 2050 with the creation of truly sustainable properties. This will allow us to continue growing and seizing new opportunities, as well as creating new jobs and encouraging investment into the areas we serve.”

Marcos Navarro, director and sustainability lead for housing finance at NatWest, said: “We’re committed to supporting housing associations nationwide and have provided a bespoke funding package that will help Magenta Living deliver affordable and sustainable properties to individuals and families across Wirral and the wider North West.

“We’ll continue to support the company as it expands its portfolio and delivers its climate change initiative. It was rewarding to work on a deal that adds such genuine social and environmental value.

“This new funding package will not only allow Magenta Living to build sustainable and affordable homes, but it will support its transition to net zero and create local jobs, supporting economic recovery following the pandemic”

This funding package forms part of NatWest’s commitment to support the housing association sector with £3 billion by the end of 2022, to help increase the provision of social housing and enable the improvement of existing properties.