Almost a year after Shepherds Bush was downgraded for compliance issues, it looks set to become a subsidiary of The Guinness Partnership
Housing association Guinness is in talks to take over Shepherds Bush Housing Group (SBHG) nearly a year after the latter was found non-compliant with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH)’s governance and financial viability standard,
SBHG, set up in 1966 by members of St Stephen’s Church, has more than 5,000 homes in West London. Guinness has released a statement stating that the SBHG brand will initially be preserved with the partnership, under which SBHG would become a subsidiary partner, aiming to take place in the autumn.
Guinness and Countryside have formed a joint venture to build 700 mixed-tenure homes in Tolworth, south west London.
In June 2022, the RSH published a report identifying weaknesses in SBHG’s risk management and internal control frameworks and business plan reporting.
The report concluded it had failed to identify the potential crystallisation of financial risks in sufficient time. It was downgraded to a ‘G3’ score for governance, meaning it is no longer in compliance and needs to improve,
The RSH also identified concerns about fire safety reporting and compliance with the Decent Homes Standards and data quality.
Martin Hurst, SBHG chair, said in a statement: “SBHG remains a viable independent business and following our downgrade by the Regulator of Social Housing last year we have made great progress with our governance recently.
“We want to build on our progress to do more for our residents by investing in their homes, communities and building much needed affordable housing, which will remain challenging if we stay independent.
Following due diligence, SBHG shareholders will be asked to formally approve the partnership later in 2023.
“We are delighted to have been selected as SBHG’s partner for the future,” said Catriona Simons, group chief executive of Guinness, one of the largest affordable housing providers in England, with more than 140,000 customers living in approximately 64,000 homes.
>>See also: Countryside and Guinness pair up to build £400m Kingston scheme
>>See also: Guinness builds less than half of targeted homes
“We have a complementary presence in west London. Both organisations have a strong social purpose and a shared commitment to the communities in which we operate.
“Bringing SBHG into the Guinness family will increase the impact we both have in west London and deliver more for SBHG and Guinness residents.”
No comments yet