Optivo and Southern Housing Group merger approved

The boards of Optivo and Southern Housing Group have approved proposals to merge and create a new 77,000 home social landlord.

The new organisation will be named Southern Housing and the target date for formal completion is early 2023. 

Discussions about a potential merger began in March this year before being subject to due diligence and successful negotiations. An engagement programme also followed to give residents, staff and external partners an opportunity to feed into the detailed discussions.

Optivo and Southern Housing Group work alongside each other in many of the same communities. By coming together, the merger aims to create an organisation that’s big but local – rooted in key communities, with the scale to have a greater impact. In challenging times, the merger will build a strong and resilient organisation focused on delivering excellent resident services.

Changes to the new Executive Team at Southern Housing will be announced shortly.