In a flurry of activity in late March and early April 2020, US-based MRI Software has bought two of the UK social housing sector’s leading software providers, Orchard and Castleton Technology, the latter pending shareholder approval.
MRI Software bought Orchard Information Systems at the end of March 2020 in order to extend its reach in the UK social housing sector.
Patrick Ghilani, chief executive officer, MRI Software, said, “By uniting Orchard’s expertise in social housing with MRI’s solutions for managing residential, build-to-rent, leasehold block management and mixed-use properties, we are now very well equipped to address the varying needs and evolving business models of the UK residential market with a comprehensive and flexible product portfolio.”
Orchard is a long-standing provider of software and services to the UK housing sector. As a result of the acquisition, MRI Software said that Orchard’s customers can now benefit from MRI’s additional cloud software offerings, resident portal and component accounting capabilities. Orchard said that it will continue to serve its customers without interruption.
Pat Clarke, chief executive officer, Orchard Information Systems, said, “As part of MRI Software, Orchard will gain access to additional resources, technology and expertise to strengthen our support for social housing. The acquisition brings together two companies with a shared commitment to innovation and a strong alignment of culture and values, paving the way for us to better serve the changing needs of the UK social housing sector.”
MRI Software agrees to acquire Castleton Technology
MRI Software has entered into an agreement to acquire Castleton Technology. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of MRI Software and Castleton Technology and is pending shareholder approval.
Commenting on how the Castleton acquisition will fit in with the company’s recent Orchard purchase, an MRI Software spokesperson said, “A combination of Castleton, together with our recent Orchard acquisition, gives MRI the right platform to meet the increasing needs of the social housing industry which will require housing providers to develop fully cloud-based offerings that integrate across the housing IT ecosystem, best-in-class product user interfaces and digital transformation capabilities across both software and managed services.”
Ghilani said, “The acquisition of Castleton is a significant development for our business, delivering us scale in the UK real estate market and social housing sector in particular, providing a platform to further accelerate our growth globally. A combined MRI and Castleton will be extremely well equipped to address the varying needs and evolving business models of the UK and Australian social housing sectors.”
David Payne, non-executive chairman, Castleton Technology, said, “Castleton has performed well since embarking on its strategy in 2013 to build a public sector-focused software and managed service business, growing organically as well as through a series of acquisitions. The competitive landscape is changing and as such I welcome the opportunity for Castleton shareholders to realise their investments.”
