In Engeland gaan ze verder: een supermarktketen wil zich gaan laten registreren als woningcorporatie(Hhousing association); via Housing inside
Albert Hein als corporatie, een idee? Of de Coop, of de Aldi
Supermarket in talks to register as housing association
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A major supermarket chain is in talks to move into the sector and is in the process of registering as a housing association, it has been claimed.
Robert Grundy, director of estate agents Savills, announced the news at the ‘Working through…asset management’ session in the Queen’s Suite at the CIH Conference on Wednesday morning.
Mr Grundy told delegates that they needed to change the way they work and begin seeing themselves as ‘ethical businesses’ or risk losing out to major companies who are beginning to view social housing as a viable model.
Mr Grundy said: ‘We are just helping one of the supermarkets register as a housing association, so have a little think about that. Why are they looking at this market?
‘We are working with a couple of house builders, helping them register to come into the sector to become registered providers. We are working with a property company for them to become a register provider - so you are not sitting in this nice controlled environment anymore.
‘People are coming in and you have got to try and sort your businesses to face that challenge.’
Mr Grundy refused to reveal the identity of the supermarket chain but so far Tesco and Waitrose denied speaking to Savills or having any plans to enter the social housing sector.
The news was revealed as Wayne Gethings, director of asset management at Wrekin Housing Trust, joined Mr Grundy in telling associations that selling some of their homes could benefit the organisations in the long run.
Mr Gethings said his association had looked at the value of some of its stock and worked out that the cost of maintenance, including decent homes standard, was too high.
He said some homes were sold and the money generated, along with some bank loans, meant the organisation could build two new homes.
Since Wrekin began working in this way, 552 homes with negative net present value had been sold and 1117 homes bought.
He said: ‘We are only doing this with void properties…it is a matter of keeping the tenants informed as we go along.’
Readers' comments (26)
Do you think they'll give Nectar points on your rent?
They could make the stores 'double deckers' and put the tenants in the roof...
Including some affordable housing on the site of a new mega-store will no doubt make it even easier for the big supermarkets to get their planning applications approved.
Perhaps there will even be an offer of guaranteed jobs for those people who live on the mega-store's site? Or perhaps a hefty discount at the shop for those that live there?!
Where I live the phrase 'Tesco Town' gets used a lot by the local media. Tesco may have "so far denied" that they are getting into social housing but the model may appeal to them: provide somewhere for people to live and work, and in return they will plough the majority of their income back into the business.