10,000-home Silva to join 40,000-home Abri early next month 

The boards of housing associations Abri and Silva have approved the merger of the two organisations to create a 50,000-home group early next month.

The move will see 10,000-home Silva join the 40,000-home Abri as a subsidiary.

Gary Orr

Gary Orr, chief executive of Abri Group

Gary Orr, chief executive of Abri Group, said: “I’m delighted to confirm that Silva Homes is joining Abri Group.

“By combining our skills and resources and organising the delivery of our services on a regional basis, we’ll be an even stronger, more resilient organisation that can invest more in our existing homes and build more new ones, while being truly connected to our customers and communities”

Abri, in unaudited figures published in July, said it completed 1,017 homes last financial year including those built through joint ventures, up 20% from 850 built the previous year. It has an ambition to build 10,0000 homes by 2030.

Abri also announced an 8% increase in turnover to £264m, with income from rent and property sales increasing by £12m and £6m respectively. Its pre-tax surplus jumped 56% to £44m, helped by disposals of existing stock.