Peabody and Catalyst have today officially joined together, with Catalyst initially becoming a subsidiary of the Peabody Group.

Following the announcement of merger discussions last year, the not-for-profit housing associations held a full resident consultation on their proposals. Both boards carefully considered consultation feedback before agreeing to proceed, and the merger has now been approved having achieved the relevant consents.

The new Peabody Group will be responsible for 104,000 homes and around 220,000 customers across London and the Home Counties.

Lord Kerslake is the Chair of the new organisation and Ravi Rajagopal is the Vice-Chair. Ian McDermott, who has been Chief Executive of Peabody since October, will continue in his role and the current interim Chief Executive of Catalyst Sarah Thomas now takes up the post of Chief Operating Officer at Peabody.

Ian McDermott commented: "Our customers will be front and centre of our new organisation. Our increased scale will allow us to invest more in services, homes, technology and our people. We want to transform our services for the better, working with customers to create and design services that help them get things done easily and quickly. We'll be focused on getting the basics right, including delivering an effective repairs service, and also fostering a people-first culture throughout the organisation.

"Equality, Diversity & Inclusion will be central to what we do, and we are planning an Academy of talent where colleagues and customers will be able to learn side by side. Customers need to be heard, and through meaningful involvement and local engagement, we will make sure that they are.

"I know we'll be judged not on our words, but on our actions and the quality of what we do, which is absolutely right. We will learn and improve as we transition to the new operating model, and we are determined to make the most of this huge opportunity to make a positive impact and help people flourish and succeed in their lives."

Lord Kerslake, Chair of Peabody, said: "I am delighted to confirm that our two successful organisations have joined together. We have a lot of work to do. First and foremost, we will be smoothly integrating our organisations and putting our locality model in place, with a strong focuson improving our services and investing in our homes.

"We're passionate about creating a sustainable Peabody and are committed to developing new social homes and investing in communities and care and support services. Taking a whole place, stewardship approach to placemaking, we will build on our learnings from Thamesmead, ensuring that our neighbourhoods old and new are great places to live for the long-term."