The merger will see the creation of a new operation within Sanctuary Group specialising in the provision of housing for older people to be known as Sanctuary 21.

Sanctuary Group currently manages more than 100,000 units of accommodation throughout England and Scotland. Under the plans, Sanctuary 21 will manage over 32,000 units of retirement and extra care accommodation for older people, as well as care and telecare services.

A joint statement by Sanctuary Group and 19,000-home Housing & Care 21 said: “Sanctuary 21 will focus on meeting and promoting the needs of older people of modest means through high quality, affordable housing and services.

“The combination of Housing & Care 21’s specialism, Sanctuary’s infrastructure and the financial strength of both organisations will mean a wider range of older people’s accommodation can be offered across more locations, more efficiently.”

It is intended that the efficiency gains and capacity created by bringing the two organisations together will be used to build at least 800 homes a year for affordable rent for older people of modest means as well as additional properties for shared ownership and sale.

Sanctuary 21 will be committed to enhancing the quality of housing and care for older people and demonstrating the value of court/scheme manager services, where there is a staff member offering support on site. It will also modernise existing retirement properties to meet contemporary standards and provide improved energy efficiency.

The merger will enable Housing & Care 21 to take advantage of Sanctuary’s infrastructure including a leading SAP based ERP computer system, shared service centre, in-house maintenance operation and 24 hour response centre with assistive telecare services.

Sanctuary and Housing & Care 21 will be working together to plan the next steps to achieve a successful merger and ensure that benefits for existing and new residents can be realised as soon as possible.

Sanctuary Group chair Jonathan Lander said: “Sanctuary Group has at its core two important charitable objectives: to provide affordable housing and to provide a choice of care and support services for older and vulnerable people.

“This merger is a natural fit for Sanctuary, complementing our existing older people’s services and accommodation with Housing & Care 21’s significant expertise.”

Housing & Care 21 chair Lord Ben Stoneham said: “The merger with Sanctuary will help further the core purpose of Housing & Care 21 to provide high quality housing and care services for older people of modest means.

“As a result of the merger we will be able provide many more homes, better services and make improvements far sooner than would have been possible as two separate organisations.”