Halton Housing’s commercial subsidiary, Open Solutions (OSUK) Ltd, earlier this month completed the purchase of Springfield House in Barnsley.  At £5.3m, this is the single biggest acquisition for OSUK to date. 

The converted Co-operative building is located just outside Barnsley town centre and comprises 66 self-contained 1- and 2-bedroom apartments. 

Historically used as offices dating back to 1961, the building has since been converted into apartments. The first residents occupied the building following extensive renovation works in June 2020.  

Given the size and location of the building, OSUK has contracted with HLM Property Management part of Lambert Smith Hampton Group to arrange all the facilities management services and landlord services.

Commenting on the acquisition, Sue Smith, Managing Director of OSUK and Director of Finance and Assurance at Halton Housing said: “Springfield House is a fantastic acquisition for OSUK. It’s exciting to be adding to OSUK’s portfolio. The return from Springfield House will be directly reinvested back into Halton Housing to help deliver more affordable homes to meet local housing demand and improved services for customers.” 

This latest acquisition means OSUK now has 378 properties that it lets to tenants on a market rent, including 13 commercial properties.