So, what\u2019s the perfect partnership?

The Green Man Lane estate in Ealing is a strategic partnership between housing association (HA) A2Dominion Group and developer/contractor Rydon Group. Together they are halfway through the regeneration of an aging estate, having already delivered a new primary school and 363 new private and affordable homes, with over 450 homes currently in development.

Like any successful partnership – trust, honesty and good communication is vital

Housing associations make for attractive partners Risk aside, joint ventures can bring many benefits for the individual partners, such as the ability to tap into specialist expertise in different organisations or boost output. In particular, partnering with an HA can bring many benefits from the affordable housing sector. An HA will not only benefit from different low-cost funding streams, but may also have greater flexibility in relation to the designation of prime housing units that haven’t been sold, potentially turning these units into private rent on a long-term basis.

So, what’s the perfect partnership? In this respect, we are likely to see a continuation of the current model as the benefits potentially outweigh the risks. But we will also see an increase in joint ventures between institutional investors such as pension funds with HAs or local authorities, who are setting up their own investment vehicles. We have already seen Aviva enter the private rented sector with the benefit being similar long-term objectives.

Successful joint ventures can also benefit from an equal spread of roles and responsibilities across the organisations involved. This in itself involves a lot of trust, as organisations need to agree who owns different aspects of the project such as managing the financial model, sales & marketing, development or stakeholder management. Each organisation needs to trust the other to do its agreed share and to the standards expected – again this is an area where strain can sometimes appear.

How do you ensure a positive relationship? My advice is simple – for every joint venture you need an independent, third-party consultant like John Rowan and Partners to watch over and manage the joint venture’s interest (as well as that of the separate organisations). We can facilitate open conversations around individual objectives at the start and bear these differences in mind when undertaking the initial project management as well as helping to shape the agreed roles and responsibilities.

When issues occur, which they do, then there is always an option to rephrase, refinance or reprogramme to keep things on track. I have often found myself part construction consultant, part marriage councillor and like any successful partnership – trust, honesty and good communication is vital. x

If you’re interested in finding out more on how to undertake a joint venture and what you need to consider, get in touch with Mash Halai on:

mhalai@jrp.co.ukTelephone: 07958 361 627