Riverside
takeover: a
warning to all
A stinging attack has been
launched against the housing organisation behind the fat -cat salary row at
Workington.
Mr Adrian Waite a former Workington housing boss warns of the dangers of
a new agreement for tenants in the town which
is planned by Riverside Housing
Association of Liverpool, a giant organisation which owns 56,000 homes nationwide.
Housing organisations and tenants in other parts of the country should
take note, says Mr Waite head of Appleby-based AWICS, a management consultancy and training company.
The warning comes a year
after Riverside took over the much smaller Impact Housing Association which is
based in Workington and has 2,770 homes.
Mr Waite was chairman of Impact for four years prior to the takeover which he
criticised at the time.
Now he has renewed his
attack.
He writes in his blog:
“ Riverside and
Impact have now decided to make a
‘transfer of engagements’. This would mean that all Impact’s operations,
including their housing stock, would move to Riverside and they would become
the landlord.
“Impact
was always more than `just a housing association’ and provided a wide range of
other services including a community centre at Salterbeck in Workington; foyers
in Kendal, Penrith and Whitehaven; a furniture service; and a domestic violence
service.
“This
approach is not consistent with Riverside’s business model so I also raised
concerns about whether these services would continue to be provided. The
response from Riverside’s representatives was rather vague. I would not be
surprised if we see some services closed.
“You
may be thinking that I am just having a moan.
”
However, I think that this may be a cautionary tale for other housing
associations and their tenants and that the Regulator of Social Housing should
consider taking a different approach to regulation to ensure greater
transparency and accountability especially when providers are downgraded or
when mergers or takeovers are being considered.”
Mr
Waite recalls that he was a member of the board of Impact
from 2009 to 2015 and was Chair from 2011 to 2015.
He goes on:
“Throughout
that time, Impact maintained a top rating
with the Regulator. However, in 2017, Impact was downgraded to a non-compliant and
the Board proposed a ‘merger’ with the Riverside Group that could more
accurately be described as a ‘takeover’.
“As
a shareholding member of Impact, I was shocked at the way the board behaved,
mainly because of:
- Their mismanagement of Impact that led
to the downgrade.
- Their decision to bring forward the 2017
AGM to before the Regulator announced the downgrade so that they could
tell members that Impact’s finances were ‘strong and stable’ contrary to
the conclusions of the Regulator.
- The agreement that they reached with
Riverside failed to protect Impact’s values, services or tenants; and was
supported by misleading information. It was also made without enough
engagement with shareholding members or tenants.
“AT the Impact AGM in
2017 members were told the finances were
'strong and stable'. The following week the Regulator downgraded the
association's rating for financial viability from the top rating to a non-compliant rating.
“I
opposed the ‘takeover’ at the 2018 AGM, but it was approved.
“Interestingly
enough, only a year after the ‘takeover’, everyone who was a member of the board
of Impact prior to the downgrading has been replaced. Impact also has a new
finance director.
“Both
Riverside and the Impact board made great play at the time of the ‘takeover’
about how Impact would continue to act independently within the Riverside
Group.
“Tenants
were even told in writing that their landlord would not change. In view of
Riverside’s highly centralised business model, I questioned this at the time.
“I
asked whether Riverside planned to do with Impact what they had previously done
with the Carlisle Housing Association – namely wind them up and integrate their
homes and operations into the parent housing association.
“I was assured by representatives of Riverside
at the highest level that this would not happen.
“However,
Riverside and Impact have now decided – only a year after the ‘takeover’ - to
make a ‘transfer of engagements’. This would mean that all Impact’s operations,
including their housing stock, would move to Riverside and they would become
the landlord.”
What
does Impact say?
In a letter to tenants earlier
this month Impact said:
“As you will recall, Impact
became a subsidiary of The Riverside Group in August 2018 following
consultation with you and a positive vote from our shareholders.
“Joining Riverside has brought
exciting changes to our operations across Cumbria. The move has enabled us to
begin work on a multi-million pound programme to improve existing homes and to
build new ones.
“As explained during our
consultation with you in 2018, the plan was for Impact to initially become a
subsidiary of Riverside with a view to explore further integration options
towards the end of 2020.
“However, our financial position
is not strong enough for us to continue as a stand alone subsidiary with the
ability to deliver the commitments that both Impact and Riverside made during
the consultation in 2018.
“We need to take action now to
ensure that services and commitments to customers are not disrupted and to
protect our staff.
“The Impact Board has looked at a number of
options and has agreed a proposal to begin integration into Riverside sooner
than planned through a ‘transfer of engagements’.
“This would mean that all our
operations, including our housing stock, would move to Riverside and they would
become your landlord.
"We believe this is the best
option for you, our staff and the wider community. It would mean that:You can
continue to live in the same home with services provided locally by the teams
you already know.•
“Your tenancy / lease agreement
will stay the same only the name of your landlord will change to The Riverside
Group Limited. Your rights whether you are a tenant, shared owner or a
leaseholder will be protected.
“Riverside will continueto
deliver the pledges it made when Impact joined the Group, including the
£25million programme to improve homes across Cumbria.
“We would keep the Impact Housing
name as a separate brand within the Riverside Group. The current Impact Board will
becomea sub-committee to the Riverside Group Board and will continue to act in
the best interests of Impact customers.
“Rents are set to go up in April
2020 and this will happen right across the social housing sector. This means
that your rent would still increase if you remained with Impact. A transfer to
Riverside will have no effect on how much you pay for your home (see the
enclosed question and answer document for more information).
“We are proposing that the
Transfer of Engagements happens on or before 31 March 2020. Our shareholders
will vote on the Board’s proposal in early 2020. We have informed the
Government’s Regulator of Social Housing and they support our plans”.
Last week there was much criticism of
Riverside after the housing press revealed that Ms Carol Matthews, Chief Executive Officer has won a 20 per cent mouth-watering salary rise to £234, 563.
A spokesman for Carlisle Tenants`
and Residents` Federation which publishes this blog said:
“No one is better
qualified than Mr Waite to criticise Riverside and its authoritarian ways.“He is a respected professional
housing and local government consultant and additionally had several years of experience working on the
Impact governing board. .
“Many of his criticisms have also been levelled by the Federation during the years of
campaigning against Riverside`s bossiness and gross inefficiency in Carlisle
since it took over the city council houses in 2002. Riverside is accountable to no-one but itself
“His warning of the dangers ahead
should not be ignored.”
