Passengers stepping off the Empire Windrush in 1948 at Tilbury Docks would have encountered a very different country to the one we live in today. Bombing during the Second World War had inflicted widespread damage to urban areas, construction materials were in short supply and rationing continued.

Invited to Britain to fill post-war labour shortages, many of these Caribbean migrants had to live in squalid conditions without basic amenities. Like others on low incomes, they also faced insecure tenancies and homelessness.

It was against this backdrop that our legacy organisations, The Metropolitan Coloured People’s Housing Association and Thames Valley Housing, were founded, with a mission to provide safer and more affordable homes in our inner cities.

As time went by, the organisations grew in size and diversity. In the 1980s, with home ownership central to Government housing policy, both housing associations introduced shared ownership schemes, making it easier for people to get a foot on the housing ladder. Metropolitan went on to provide care and support services, while Thames Valley Housing began to provide keyworker accommodation for NHS Trusts and student accommodation. The new century saw Metropolitan take over the management and regeneration of the Clapham Park and Ashmole estates in Lambeth, while Thames Valley Housing opened its largest private finance initiative scheme in Woking. In 2012, Thames Valley Housing launched its market rent business, Fizzy Living.

The two organisations joined in October 2018 and, in total, own, manage or administer around 57,000 homes. Together, we want to improve the services we provide to customers, do more in our communities and build a better future for generations to come.