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Improving Society

Delivering an answer to the UK’s housing need

The Riverside Group

The Riverside Group is one of the leading registered providers of social housing in the UK, offering affordable housing and support to people of all ages and circumstances.

We acted for Riverside in its joint venture with Bovis Homes, one of the country’s leading housebuilders, to deliver a major new development in Northamptonshire across the 714-acre Stanton Cross scheme.  It is estimated the multi-phased 10-year project will drive over £1 billion of investment into Wellingborough and will be the largest economic growth experienced by the town since the 1960s.

Riverside and Bovis

As the key partners in the project, Riverside and Bovis will lead the development of:

  • About 3,650 new homes where a proportion will be affordable;
  • New shops, leisure and community facilities;
  • 3 new schools;
  • A doctors’ surgery and 2 new local centres;
  • An enhanced railway station and country park; and
  • A new mixed-use development around the railway station.

A joint venture such as this demanded significant resource from ACS as a law firm, especially considering the complex regulatory environment surrounding housing associations. We conducted negotiations simultaneously with five different firms of lawyers and managed a detailed due diligence process by which Riverside was able to gain a detailed understanding of the Stanton Cross project.  The wide range of legal issues that needed to be dealt with meant over 200 (new) legal documents were needed to transfer the Stanton Cross project out of Bovis and into the joint venture vehicle and then to admit Riverside as a partner.

At the heart of a successful joint venture is a robust relationship; we supported Riverside in complex negotiations across a number of fronts to enable Bovis to secure an informed and engaged partner and for Riverside to identify and analyse the complex arrangements it was adopting.  Together, Riverside and Bovis will be helping to provide one more important solution to the UK’s current housing crisis.

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