The move will create one of the largest housing associations in the UK
Sovereign Housing and Network Homes have announced their intention to merge. The decision was agreed by their respective board meetings on Thursday 9 March. The target date for the completion of the merger is 1 October 2023.
The new organisation, Sovereign Network Group, will be one of the largest housing associations in the UK, with more than 82,000 homes across the South of England and in London.
Subject to a formal appointment process, it is expected that Mark Washer, CEO at Sovereign will become the Chief Executive and Helen Evans, currently CEO of Network Homes, will become Deputy Chief Executive. Sovereign Chair Paul Massara will become Chair of Sovereign Network Group and interim Chair at Network Homes, Jon Gooding, will become Deputy Chair.
Under the proposals, the new organisation will initially take the form of a group structure with Sovereign being the parent (renamed Sovereign Network Group) and Network Homes the subsidiary (renamed Sovereign Network Homes), with a view to full amalgamation happening in April 2025.