Moving in together

Following over two years of planning, the merger of two housing associations based in mid and west Wales has been finalised. 

In May, the boards of Mid-Wales Housing Association and Tai Ceredigion had formally confirmed the decision to merge and following six months of due diligence, consultation and final approval by shareholders and lenders the merger was completed yesterday (Sunday).

This is the first-ever merger of a traditional housing association and a stock transfer organisation in Wales. 

Barcud will now own and manage more than 4,000 homes across Ceredigion, Powys, North Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. The Barcud group includes Powys Care and Repair, EOM and The Care Society. 

A spokesperson for Barcud said the merger followed extensive consultation with residents of both existing associations. Tenant and leaseholder consultation has been taking place within both associations.

The Joint Tenant Panel made up of representatives from TaRF (Mid-Wales Housing's Tenant and Resident Forum) and TCMG (Tai Ceredigion Monitoring Group) were entirely in support of the merger and had been working hard to ensure the best outcome for tenants. 

Karen Oliver, Chair of Barcud, said: “Getting the detail for the merger finalised has quite rightly taken a while because all the partners and funders needed to be confident it would work for our tenants. That confidence is now there and the green light given to creating a strong new housing association for the heart of Wales.”

Steve Jones (pictured), Group Chief Executive for Barcud, added: “Both associations share values and an ambition to address the shortage of much-needed quality, affordable housing in mid and west Wales.

“We are ready to rise to the challenges faced by the local housing sector, and together with our partners within the local authorities and the support of Welsh Government, we will be in an even stronger position to continue delivering on this objective. We will continue to listen to our tenants and work hard to develop a service that meets the needs of our communities. 

“We believe that working as one organisation will strengthen our services and allow us to use our collective resources and expertise to help maintain, improve and build high quality, energy-efficient, affordable homes within the communities. We live and work in these communities and want tenants and staff to be proud of the services we deliver. With our team's in-depth understanding of the needs of the area and our combined strength and efficiency, we will be able to meet the range of housing needs in the heart of Wales.”