Merger proposals were approved by housing association boards in August
Settle and Paradigm have completed their legal merger to create a new 27,000-home provider.
The combined housing association, initially to be known as SettleParadigm, will work primarily across Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, where it says it will be the largest housing group operating in the Home Counties.
Paradigm currently operates almost 17,000 homes, while Settle has more than 10,000.
The boards of both organisations decided to go ahead with the partnership after considering the business, conducting due diligence and consulting with residents for six weeks.
More than 2,600 residents responded to the consultation, with around 80% saying they felt positive or neutral about the proposals.
Merger proposals were initially announced in March and a decision to proceed was taken in August.
A full board and executive team are already in position to lead the new organisation. The designated chair, chief executive and chief financial officer all previously worked at Paradigm, while its senior independent director comes from Settle.
Richard Moriarty, SettleParadigm’s chair, said: “Our ambition has been to be larger and more local, to enable us to do more for residents and provide more new homes. By merging with Settle, which shares a similar geography to us, we will benefit from economies of scale while remaining rooted in our local neighbourhoods.
“We know there are many challenges ahead including net zero and the desperate need for more affordable homes. Together, we’ll be stronger, more resilient and better able to face these head on.”
Sally Veitch, senior independent director of SettleParadigm and former chair of Settle, said: “Today marks a real milestone for both Settle and Paradigm as we join together so we can do more for our residents.
“I’m confident that our combined strength will enable us to improve services for our current residents and build more affordable homes to meet the desperate need for them.”
Last March, Paradigm also announced that it was in discussions about buying 3,500 homes in south Buckinghamshire from L&Q, which is now consulting its residents on these plans.
A week ago, Paradigm released its financial accounts for the six months to 30 September, which revealed a drop in its surplus as it increased its spend on development by 22%.
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