A mini round up of social housing news including appointments and mergers…

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New CEO for Platform

Emma Palmer is the new Chief Executive of Platform Housing Group.

Palmer will start her role in September, after eight years as Chief Executive of Eastlight Community Homes.

Palmer, who takes over the role from former Chief Executive Elizabeth Froude and Interim Chief Executive Kevin Bolt, brings more than 30 years of experience across housing associations and local government.

In 2025 she was appointed by the government as Disability and Access Ambassador for Housing and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Platform owns and manages 51,332 homes and is one of England’s largest housing associations.

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Stonewater appoints Group Director of Development

Matthew Crucefix has been appointed as Group Director of Development at Stonewater and will drive its new development programme.

He takes over the role with immediate affect from James Bradbury, who was recently appointed Stonewater’s Chief Investment Officer.

Crucefix previously served as interim Director of Development Operations, where he was responsible for the management and delivery of Stonewater’s development programme across all operating areas, including sale and lettings of new properties.

Crucefix  joined the housing sector in 2010, starting out as a Community Initiatives Officer with Raglan. After Stonewater’s formation in 2015, he then took up the role of Regional Development Manager before holding several senior positions in the Development team.

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Abri and Curo Group in partnership talks

The respective boards of housing associations Abri Group (Abri) and Curo Group (Curo) have announced they are exploring options to form a new partnership.

The partnership would support 142,000 customers and own and manage more than 73,000 homes and community assets across the south and south west of England.

Curo is a West of England housing association providing homes and support services with a portfolio of affordable and market rented homes. Abri spans from London to Devon, Oxford to the south coast, owning and managing more than 58,000 homes and community assets.

On the partnership, Gary Orr, Group Chief Executive of Abri said: “We believe Abri and Curo are an excellent fit for one another. As well as operating in the same geographical area, both groups share the same core purpose, vision and values.

“Separately we are two high-performing organisations, but together we believe we can be even greater. Our combined strength and resilience will allow us to invest more into our customers’ homes, offer greater services and build more much-needed affordable homes.”

David McQuade, Interim Chief Executive of Curo said: “Curo and Abri have many things in common and our boards believe that together we will have more capacity to improve homes and services.

“Combining resources and capabilities is in the long-term interests of our customers and communities. While the partnership discussions progress, our focus will be on maintaining the delivery of high-quality services. Our customers’ views are extremely important to us, and we will give them every opportunity to provide feedback on the proposals and their priorities for the future.”

A final decision is expected later in the year, following a formal consultation with customers and the agreement of both boards to the final business case.