The Boards of Progress Housing Group (Progress) and Empower Housing Association (Empower) are pleased to announce the commencement of partnership discussions which could lead to Empower Housing joining the Progress Housing Group in the future.
Both organisations have a proud track record and commitment to the provision of high quality specialised housing to adults with learning disabilities, autistic people and individuals with long term mental health needs in the UK.
Progress is a North West based housing association and owns and manages nearly 12,000 homes. Its supported living arm, RWP is one of the leading such organisations in the UK providing homes to over 4,000 tenants.
Empower is a Lancashire based housing association that specialises in providing housing for adults with disabilities enabling them to live within their community independently. It provideshomes to around 300 tenants.
Both organisations will commence discussions to explore the potential for a partnership and Empower will begin tenant consultation soon. The tenant consultation will give all of Empower’s tenants an opportunity to ask questions and provide their views on the proposed partnership. Empower will then take those views into account when making a final decision.
All of Empower’s services will continue as usual whilst these discussions are underway and will keep tenants, colleagues and stakeholders informed of progress.
Jacqui DeRose, Group Chief Executive of Progress said “Our mission at Progress is helping people to live their best lives. We aim to have a positive impact on people and communities by providing high-quality homes, supporting independence and creating opportunities. The proposed partnership will strengthen our offer to all tenants by pooling the skills and experience of Empower together with those of RWP”.
Sara Sharrock, Chief Executive of Empower said “the proposed partnership with Progress will help us build on over 20 years of experience and impact helping adults with disabilities to live independently and thrive. As we progress through our discussions we will ensure that tenants are kept informed and have the opportunity to express their views. We are excited about what we can achieve together.
January 2026
