• Vicinity Group is the parent organisation to Liverpool Housing Trust Cobalt Housing Association and Beechwood and Ballantyne Community Housing Association
• Vicinity Group has grown into a significant business and by 2006 had an annual turnover of £51m and a net worth of around £250m
• It is one of Merseyside’s most pioneering and influential landlords with almost16,000 households in Liverpool and wider Merseyside area
• Liverpool Housing Trust (LHT), founder member of the Vicinity Group, was formed in 1965 when a handful of local church volunteers wanted to do something about Liverpool’s dire housing conditions
• In 1966 the first property was acquired and renovated for £2,600. The property on York Avenue, near Sefton Park, is still owned by LHT
• LHT was one of the first Housing Associations to set up and run training schemes for unemployed people, particularly those from Liverpool’s black community
• In 1989 LHT took on and improved 2,800 former Runcorn Development Corporation properties across three estates in Runcorn and subsequently redeveloped the estates in consultation with local residents
• LHT was Winner of North West Business Excellence Awards in 1998, 2001, and 2002
• In 2003 the LHT Group was formed and LHT became a subsidiary of the Group
• Cobalt Housing Association was formed in 2003 as part of the LHT Group, following a stock transfer of around 6,000 properties from Liverpool City Council
• Atrium City Living Limited is the commercial arm of the Vicinity Group, trading from 2003, it provides homes for rent or sale at market rates
• In 2005 Beechwood and Ballantyne Community Housing Association joined the LHT Group as part of the stock transfer from Wirral Council
• LHT celebrated its 40th birthday in 2005
• The LHT Group changed its name to the Vicinity Group in 2006 as it prepares for major growth over the coming years
• In 2007 Vicinity Group made it into the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for List 2007 (medium and large-sized companies).
• In 2007 Vicinity Group was selected as preferred partner by the council in the transfer of housing at Ribble Valley
• The Vicinity Group supports around 500 jobs in the local construction industry by investing in the region of £30m a year on new and existing housing
• Major lenders view the Vicinity Group very positively, this has meant that, over the years, its subsidiaries have secured over £100m of private lending facilities at very low rates
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