L&Q-Trafford deal to spark £4bn plan, 20,000 homes

L&Q, one of the UK’s largest housing associations and developers, has completed the acquisition of Manchester-based Trafford Housing Trust.

L&Q said the deal will facilitate £4 billion of investment in creating 20,000 new homes across the North West of England.

Trafford Housing Trust is to become a standalone subsidiary of L&Q, retaining its own brand, board and executive management team

Larry Gold will become chief executive of THT.

Edna Robinson, group chair of Trafford Housing Trust, will join the L&Q board and Waqar Ahmed, group director of finance at L&Q, will join the THT board.

“The acquisition of Trafford Housing Trust, and its integration with L&Q’s existing operations, combines THT’s local knowledge, relationships and reputation for quality and innovation with L&Q’s 50 years’ experience in planning and infrastructure delivery and as a developer of homes, places and communities,” said London-based L&Q.

“The deal has grown out of a long-standing and highly-successful joint venture partnership and will support a long-term ambition to build 20,000 much-needed new homes in the North West.

“It will also double Trafford Housing Trust’s social investment in the region with the establishment of a £4 million North West Foundation.

“In addition to supporting Trafford Housing Trust’s new home development plans, the acquisition will enable Trafford Housing Trust to enhance its Quality Home Standard for 9,000 social homes across Greater Manchester, giving customers a better standard of living.”

Operationally, Trafford Housing Trust will keep its name and corporate structure and will sit as a standalone company within the L&Q Group.

The acquisition does not affect existing staffing numbers and there will be no compulsory redundancies.

The terms of the acquisition agreement enable Trafford Housing Trust to retain and reinvest any profits made through new home sales into its own schemes and social programmes.

L&Q Group CEO David Montague said: “Together, L&Q and Trafford Housing Trust can do so much more to address the need for more affordable housing in the North West and to invest in local communities.”

Trafford Housing Trust CEO Larry Gold said: “Trafford Housing Trust has an outstanding reputation as a builder of communities.

“As a self-managed subsidiary of L&Q, we will be able to build more homes, improve more lives and invest in more communities at a vastly improved scale and pace.

“We will balance the need for new homes in our region with the on-going requirement and commitment to our customers to provide the best possible social housing.”