Law firm Winckworth Sherwood has advised Affinity Sutton on its recently completed merger with Circle Housing Group – the largest merger the social housing sector has seen.
Affinity Sutton owned 58,000 homes across the UK and was already one of the country’s largest social housing providers. The merged organisation is called Clarion Housing Group and owns and manage over 127,000 homes. Clarion Housing Group plans to build 50,000 new homes across all tenure types over the next 10 years whilst prioritising affordable homes.
Winckworth Sherwood has provided advice on the pre-merger due diligence, review of loan and funding arrangements, the merger process, loan security transfer and due diligence and post-merger group structure.
The Winckworth Sherwood team was led by Partner and Head of Housing Andrew Murray, and included specialist lawyers from the firm’s Housing, Finance, Corporate and Commercial teams.
Andrew Murray said: “The social housing market is seeing a profound period of change and consolidation. The merger between Affinity Sutton and Circle Housing Group is the largest seen in the market and our appointment is recognition that Winckworth Sherwood has one of the strongest and most respected teams in the UK.”
