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Church Commissioners agree sale of residential properties

9 May 2005

The Church Commissioners have today announced the sale of the freeholds of their residential properties at Stoke Newington, Maida Vale and part of the Waterloo Estate for £70 million.

They have reached agreement for the freehold and management of these properties to be taken over by the Genesis Housing Group, who will operate in partnership with Grainger Trust plc.

Pathmeads Housing Association, a Registered Social Landlord and part of the Genesis Housing Group, will manage the properties. Completion of the transaction is expected next month.

Paul Clark, Chief Surveyor of the Church Commissioners, said: “We believe this is a good outcome for the tenants, as the management of the estates will be transferred to a Registered Social Landlord. The new owners are likely to be in a position to invest further in the properties.

“We informed tenants of our proposals in February and have now written to them again to let them know that a sale has been agreed. The sale does not affect the conditions of their tenancies.”

Tom McGregor, Managing Director of Genesis Housing Group subsidiary, Pathmeads, said: “We are looking forward to working with the residents of these estates to provide a seamless management service that is customer focused and achieves measurable improvements.

“We will work closely with residents to identify long and short-term issues that are important to them, in both the ongoing management of their homes and in how the estates should be managed in the future.” 

The Church Commissioners have explained to the tenants why the change is taking place. Paul Clark said: “Unlike the new owners, we are not a focused housing provider. We have a wider investment portfolio and have a duty to deliver the best possible returns on our investments to help fund the work of the Church across the country. This duty sometimes involves making changes such as this.”

Knight Frank and Trowers & Hamlins acted as advisers to the Church Commissioners.

 

Notes:

The Church Commissioners

The Church Commissioners manage assets worth some £4.3 billion on behalf of the Church of England. The portfolio of assets includes stock market investments, and commercial, residential and rural property investments.

The Commissioners’ mission is to support the Church of England's ministry, particularly in areas of need and opportunity. The main responsibilities are:

To obtain the best possible long term return from a diversified investment portfolio in order: to meet our pension commitments; and to provide the maximum sustainable funding for our other purposes such as support for the work of bishops, cathedrals and parish ministry.

In doing so, to pay particular regard to making “additional provision for the cure of souls in parishes where such assistance is most required.”

To administer the legal framework for pastoral reorganisation and settling the future of redundant churches.

 

The Commissioners’ Residential Property Portfolio

 

As at 31 December 2004 the predominantly London-based residential property portfolio formed around nine per cent of the Commissioners’ overall investments, and 28 per cent of their investment property portfolio. The residential portfolio comprises two distinct parts: the Hyde Park estate, north of central London - some 1800 properties, largely leasehold - and the Octavia Hill estates comprising some 1590 properties mainly in South London.

 

The Octavia Hill estates form part of the investment portfolio of the Church Commissioners and, before that, were part of the investment portfolio of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

 

The Commissioners’ legal duty as trustees is to manage their assets for the financial support of the Church of England nationwide. They carry out regular reviews of all their investment assets, equities, property or otherwise, to ensure that they continue to be managed in a way that best enables the Commissioners to provide this support.

 

Whilst residential property forms part of the Commissioners’ investments, it is not one of their objects to provide housing. The Church Commissioners are a private landlord. In this respect they are quite different from a Housing Association or Registered Social Landlord, as the purposes of the Commissioners’ business do not include the provision of housing (other than housing for diocesan bishops and some loan finance to assist with the housing needs of retired clergy).

 

Over the past ten years, the Commissioners’ total return on their overall investments has averaged 11.1 per cent compared with 7.9 per cent per year for the industry benchmark. As a result, the Commissioners are now able to distribute to the Church £37 million more each year than would have been the case if the investments had performed only at the industry average. In 2004, the Commissioners contributed around 18 per cent towards the cost of running the Church of England.

The Genesis Housing Group

 

Genesis Housing Group is one of the UK’s largest and most successful providers of homes for rent and sale. The Group currently consists of PCHA, Sutherland, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations and together, owns and/or manages more than 41,000 homes across London and the south east.

All the management of homes in Maida Vale, Waterloo and Stoke Newington will be undertaken by Pathmeads Housing Association. Pathmeads has extensive experience in delivering all aspects of a high-quality, responsive housing management service. It manages 17,000 homes for local authorities under contract and homes for 6,000 former homeless families through high-standard leased accommodation.

 

Grainger Trust

 

Grainger Trust plc is one of the country's largest private residential landlords with 13,000 residential properties in the UK and gross assets in excess of £1.4 billion.  The company’s standing as a reputable and caring landlord has enabled it to purchase large portfolios and one-off properties from a variety of vendors, including private and public companies, the Government, charities and private individuals.

 

Properties being sold:

The 455 residential properties and 16 shops comprise:

 

Stoke Newington

Small estate of 89 flats, built in the1930s, in one block off Church Street in Stoke Newington.

 

Maida Vale

Large estate, built in the 1930s, comprising 236 flats and 10 shops at the junction of Maida Vale and Carlton Vale.

 

Waterloo Estate

The estate comprises two distinct parts divided by The Cut just by the Old Vic Theatre at the back of Waterloo station. The older properties, built in the 1900s, are in a conservation area and comprise 157 homes as flats and cottages. They have recently undergone a major refurbishment programme principally to the exterior and shared areas of the homes. The newer stock, dating from the 1930s and situated north of The Cut, comprises 130 homes and six shops in various blocks. It is the newer properties that form part of the housing being sold.