Specialists from our Corporate, Commercial and Real Estate teams have advised housing provider and charity, the Hyde Group, on its game-changing acquisition of property management firm, Pinnacle Group.

Pinnacle Group is a national organisation that manages over 70,000 homes on behalf of central and local government, institutional investors and housebuilders. It also provides neighbourhood services, including on behalf of social housing providers, and delivers services supporting schools, hospitals, and local councils.

The enlarged Hyde Group owns and manages around 120,000 homes across all tenures and provides neighbourhood services to around 350,000 homes. In addition, it works with a large number of schools, universities, councils, housing associations, the emergency services and private sector organisations. This combined reach makes it one of the largest and most diverse housing, property, and community services providers focussed on improving communities across the UK from over 200 sites and with over 5,000 colleagues.

This acquisition is a fundamental enabler of Hyde's strategy to become a leading national housing and property services management organisation. The breadth and reach of the enlarged Hyde Group provides a unique platform to build on Hyde's track-record of attracting large-scale institutional capital to invest in the affordable housing sector.

The team advising the Hyde Group was led by Partners Reena Patel and Sharon Ayres, and comprised specialists from across the firm including Frank Beeton, Danielle Klepping, Gemma Courtenay, Hannah Cooper, Alex Lakeland-Reed, Olivia Stanley, Peter Nesbitt, Sam Beighton, Gregory Dunn, Susannah Fink, Ally Poynter; Michael Hafen, Sarah Higgins, Grace Kemp and Henry Lougher.

Marc Freeman, the Hyde Group's Transaction Team Lead commented on the support received from Gowling WLG: "the expertise and guidance from the Gowling team was absolutely critical to us being able to complete the transaction in tight timescales. Throughout the process the advice was thorough, professional and delivered at pace. As always, not only do we value the Gowling WLG team, but we also get on really well with them as people which is important when working as closely and intensely as is required for a deal of this nature".

Reena Patel said: "This is a strategic acquisition for the Hyde Group which we are delighted to have been selected to advise on, working with the Hyde team to bring its ambitions to fruition. It will expand the company's operations to boost much-needed affordable housing and support its growth targets. We look forward to seeing the positive impact it brings to the Group's communities across the UK."

Sharon Ayres commended the tremendous team work in ensuring that the project was completed within the particularly tight timeframe.

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