Devonshires is delighted to have acted for Optivo and Southern Housing Group Limited (SHGL) on their successful amalgamation to form Southern Housing.
Members of our Banking, Governance, Securitisation and Employment teams acted as joint legal advisers to Optivo and SHGL on the amalgamation which completed on 16 December 2022 to form Southern Housing, a new 77,000-home registered provider.
Our teams liaised closely with 14 different lenders and 6 different pension schemes and their solicitors to obtain their consents. We also drafted new governance documentation to codify the relationship across the new group including all charitable and non-charitable group subsidiaries and continue to provide post-merger governance advice.
The multi-disciplinary Devonshires team advised on all aspects of the amalgamation from its inception including all corporate structuring, governance matters, banking and treasury work, FCA consumer credit matters, Care Quality Commission matters, pensions and employment, due diligence, housing management and joint venture and contractual implications.
The Devonshires Team included:
Governance Team: Matthew Waters, Rose Klemperer and Ellen Damlica
Banking Team: Julian Barker, Rachel Orgill-Harris, Michelle Pascua, Carolyn Thomas, Luke Bevis, Ben Hahn and Demetrios Lati
Consumer Credit: Alice Overton
Securitisation: Sharon Kirkham and Carlos Fernandes
Employment and Pensions: Kirsty Thompson
Real Estate: Jamie Leonard
Housing Management: Samantha Grix
