Shareholders at Impact Housing Association’s Annual General Meeting this week (4th June) voted with an overwhelming majority (95%) in favour of proposals to join The Riverside Group. The vote means that Impact will become a subsidiary of Riverside later in the summer, once the legal completion process is concluded.
The Impact Board made a recommendation to Shareholders to vote in favour of the partnership following a thorough review period and consultation with tenants. Results of a six-week tenant consultation revealed that 94% of tenants who expressed a view, were in support of the partnership and none were against it.
Shareholders were briefed during the review process and received information ahead of the AGM, enabling them to make their final decision. The overwhelming majority were in favour of the partnership.
The Board and Shareholders acknowledged that, on its own, Impact would not be able to make the significant investment needed for improving homes or keeping local services running. They also recognised that repairs and maintenance were key concerns for tenants with the Riverside pledge to fund up to £25 million on repairs and modernisation making a massive difference in the first three years.
Mark Costello, Chair of Impact’s Board, said “From the start of the process, we’ve had very positive feedback from staff and from our tenants. We are delighted that this partnership is going ahead – because it will bring a more secure, brighter future for our services, our team and our tenants.
“The fact we have been able to bring this partnership together in such a short period of time is testament to a lot of hard work from our staff and colleagues at Riverside. We have seen a very supportive and collaborative approach throughout which is also very encouraging for the future.”
Information packs have been sent to all Impact tenants and leaseholders this week confirming the decision to become a subsidiary of the Riverside Group. The packs also include a summary of the tenant consultation exercise.
Carol Matthews, Riverside’s Group Chief Executive, added: “We are absolutely delighted at the result of this vote which paves the way for Impact to join the Riverside Group later in the summer. Over the last six months we have established really positive working relationships with our colleagues at Impact and I’d like to thank them and all the stakeholders we have been working with since we were selected as their preferred partner last year. We are now looking forward to building on that work as together we deliver the commitments in our partnership pledge. This includes planning and delivering a massive improvement programme to Impact’s housing stock, securing the future of its much-loved community projects and the overall financial resilience of Impact itself.”
The legal completion process is likely to take a few weeks but the joint working team anticipates this will be concluded later this summer. A summary of the tenant consultation feedback, including answers to all the questions raised, can be found on the Impact Housing Association website www.impacthousing.org.uk