Homepage
E-mail this article
Print10:44 am, November 17, 2009
Manchester social housing organisations to merge
By Simon Binns
GM Procure and IMPACT Manchester Ltd are to merge next summer and create what they claim will be the largest social housing procurement organisation in the UK.
A cross-functional team has been developed to oversee the merger after the two organisations announced that they had entered into talks to amalgamate earlier this year.
The focus of the new body will continue to be on social regeneration: employment and training opportunities, wider community benefits through direct expenditure on projects and significant leverage over suppliers and contractors.
GM Procure is a consortium of social housing providers with stock in the North West, which was established by the government to encourage social housing providers to work collaboratively.
IMPACT Manchester is a not-for-profit housing consortium formed in October 2006 as the Housing Investment Options Framework, a co-operative of social housing companies in Greater Manchester.
The aim of the merger is to deliver a more consistent approach to the procurement of construction-related products and services for members.
“We are well on the way to completing the merger in June 2010,” said Nigel Wilson, chair of IMPACT. “The staffing, systems and new framework agreements for suppliers are being outlined and we are confident that the resources within the separate organisations will serve to deliver a comprehensive and successful strategy.”
Ian Perry, chair of GM Procure, said: “Agreeing the merger with the various parties was a significant step towards meeting the aims of both organisations. Our projected combined spend of in excess of £1bn over four years will be a terrific boost to the local economy.”
Comments?sbinns@crain.com
Readers' Poll
A: Yes, it's home to some outstanding apartment schemes.
B: No, there are too few bars or shops.
C: Give it time
Votes cast: 337
Other News
This Week's Issue
