Our history
Helping people put down roots since 1909
Ours is an organisation rich in
history, made up of the extensive experience of the three main
operating companies, Broomleigh, Downland and William Sutton Homes,
which came together to form the Affinity Sutton Group.
We can trace our business for social purpose
ethos back to 1900 when Victorian philanthropist,
William Sutton, bequeathed his fortune to a
charitable trust to provide ‘model dwellings and houses for
occupation by the poor of London and other towns and populous
places in England’.
In 1964, Downland was formed
by a group of local businessmen in Sussex led by engineer,
Archibald Shaw. And then in 1992, Broomleigh was
formed as the first urban Large Scale Voluntary Transfer of homes
from the London Borough of Bromley.
Coming together
Created in 2002, The Affinity Homes Group
became the parent company of Broomleigh, and a year later, merged
with Downland.
Affinity and William Sutton merged in 2006 to
form one of the largest housing groups in the sector. This last
merger brought together all of the organisations that make up
Affinity Sutton today.
In 2009 we celebrated a century of helping
people put down roots with the 100th birthday of our first scheme,
Bethnal Green, in East London. One of Europe’s first
charitable housing developments, Bethnal Green provided an escape
from London’s East End slums for around 400 people.
In October of the same year, Affinity
Sutton started providing housing management services to Broomleigh,
Downland and William Sutton, and all began trading as Affinity
Sutton. This was followed in 2011 by the formal amalgamation
of these three organisations into one – Affinity Sutton Homes, a
wholly owned subsidiary of the Affinity Sutton Group.
Affinity Sutton today
Today we are a nationwide housing association
with over 161,000 people calling an Affinity Sutton home ‘their
home’. One thing hasn’t changed though - our commitment to
maximise life chances for our residents and create places for
communities to thrive.
Take a look at our timeline
Read our book, Building on
our Heritage which details the journey we have
taken to become the organisation we are today.