Salix Homes has made a “pivotal” move to acquire 37 houses from a social housing association in Salford.
Salix, whose headquarters are at Peel Cross Road in Langworthy, bought up the Swinton and Little Hulton properties from Riverside Housing Group.
Riverside said the move had come after several months of negotiation, adding that it wanted to reduce the housing stock it had “in areas where it has a limited presence” like the north-western parts of Salford.
The new properties are a mix of two and three-bedroom terraced homes located on Long Street and Mount Street in Swinton, and Harrop Street in Little Hulton.
Salix already runs the Beechfarm estate in Swinton and say they’ll be well placed to deliver housing services to residents.
It’s the first buyout by Salix since its landmark deal to take over 8,300 homes from Salford City Council in March 2015.
Last year’s stock transfer came at a (good) price for the council: the Department for Communities and Local Government wiped £65 million off the authority’s housing debt.
Salix were backed by an estimate £100m loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland.
They promised to bring every property up to the Government’s Decent Homes standard by 2020.
Lee Sugden, chief executive at Salix Homes, said: “This acquisition marks a pivotal moment in the history of Salix Homes as a stand-alone registered provider, and we are very proud to be expanding our property portfolio within a year of transfer.
“We are in a strong position to deliver all aspects of our first class housing service to residents and look forward to welcoming our new tenants into the Salix Homes family.
“We are now almost 12 months into the delivery of our five-year, £75million investment programme and we remain dedicated to delivering excellent services, improving lives and communities and creating a housing service of which Salford can be proud.”
Main image: Harrop Street, Little Hulton – Google Street View
