Corporate structuring advice to deliver housing association diversification

Members of our housing corporate and governance team advised a housing association that wished to diversify its activities to deliver increasingly affordable housing development in an efficient manner.

We were instructed to put in place a suitable corporate and governance structure that would not only be fit-for-purpose on delivering its diversified activities but would also reflect the expectations of the Regulator of Social Housing.

Following initial meetings with the executive team and the board to discuss their aims and objectives and attending a board member workshop, we provided advice on key issues such as the legal structure, governance arrangements, branding, intra-group service provision, contracts and procurement, staffing and intra-group funding and assets.

We drafted all corporate and governance documentation to establish the new entity and advised on the novation of existing contracts and schemes to the new subsidiary. We also negotiated funders’ consent with the registered provider’s funders to establish the new subsidiary and completed the necessary consent letters documenting the consent.

Throughout the project, our team members worked closely with external tax specialists and regularly attended executive team and board meetings. This allowed us to present recommendations and to explain the legal issues in “plain English”. It also enabled us to train senior staff and board members to ensure that they understood the documentation and their new responsibilities as group parent board members of a group with diversified activities.

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