ANCHO in partnership discussions with Cairn Housing Association

ANCHO and Cairn Housing Association are formally exploring the establishment of a constitutional partnership which will have a total of 4200 homes under management across 22 local authorities.  The potential partnership would increase the financial and business resilience of the combined organisations and put in place an important new housing group in the Scottish sector.
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In a joint statement from the ANCHO Chair Jackie Brown and Cairn’s Chair Simon Guest, they said:

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This is a positive and voluntary partnership driven by shared ambitions for high quality services, achieving value for money and more investment in existing  homes and new developments. This prospective partnership is an exciting venture where we are choosing to explore the tangible benefits of pooling skills and resources. This will create better services to tenants, keep rents affordable and create capacity to do more for our local communities. Both organisations are financially strong, with good performance and high standards of governance. Both have distinct histories and strengths and we both feel that there is a real opportunity to jointly create something that is great for our current tenants and future customers.

In a joint statement from ANCHO’s Director, Elaine Gibson and Cairn’s Chief Executive Jason MacGilp, they said:

Cairn is an ambitious housing organisation with a clear vision to deliver great homes and great services, with great people. Cairn works with communities across Scotland to achieve a positive impact on the quality of lives of customers. Similarly, ANCHO, based in North Ayrshire, has an ambitious vision to continue creating thriving communities and excellent levels of customer service.  Our shared vision and core values and focus on benefits to tenants are closely aligned which gives confidence about the cultural fit and shared approach for the prospective partnership.

The prospective partnership between ANCHO and Cairn will bring considerable new investment into the Ayrshire economy, a continued local service based in the community and a guarantee to keep rents affordable.  The partnership also offers the potential capacity for building much needed new homes in Ayrshire.

Subject to due diligence, detailed work on the business case, a positive outcome of a ballot of ANCHO tenants, and final partnership agreement being reached, it is anticipated that there could be significant advantages to ANCHO tenants and the local community.  Indicatively, these benefits could include :-

• An additional £2.2m to invest in improvements to ANCHO properties, including energy efficiency measures and early replacement of kitchens and bathrooms
• A continued ANCHO presence locally, with delegated local decision-making
• An additional £1m to invest in environmental improvements within ANCHO estates
• A rent guarantee of inflation-only rent increases of CPI for 5 years

There will be full consultation with ANCHO’s and Cairn’s tenants over the coming months and any final proposed partnership will depend upon regulatory approval, Board approvals, lender consents and the outcome of a ballot of ANCHO tenants next Summer 2017.