Origin aims to become one of the Housing Corporation's elite development partners – larger RSLs for which the corporation has set aside the bulk of its grant.
St Pancras got £18m of approved development funding and narrowly missed out on partner status last month.
Griffin, which currently builds homes from its own funds, was the subject of a Housing Corporation assessment and an Audit Commission report that criticised its rented social housing earlier this month.
But chief executive Elspeth Mackenzie said talks with St Pancras had been going on for nearly a year before that.
St Pancras will take over Griffin's 400 social rented homes while Griffin will run St Pancras' 900 intermediate rent, shared ownership and key-worker homes.
An extra 300-400 homes are to be built each year. St Pancras signed a £135m loan in November to fund extra development.
Ownership will be transferred in the summer when the group officially comes into operation but action to improve the rented homes service will start earlier.
Steve Harriott, chief executive of St Pancras & Humanist, will be chief executive of the new group.
He said: "When the corporation decides how it will approach new partners, we will be there and want to be part of the partnering club."
St Pancras merged with Humanist in 2000.
Source
Housing Today
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