Disability rights charity, the Camden Society, has joined larger 14-strong Thera Group, in a move which Camden Society chair Gerald Oppenheim says will allow the organisation to take advantage of a larger capital base to be better placed to bid for funding.

Speaking to civilsociety.co.uk, Oppenheim said that the Camden Society would retain its board and legal structure, with the Thera Group, a registered charity itself, becoming a corporate trustee of the organisation.

“It’s following the housing association model,” he said. “By joining a larger group – whose turnover will now be £50-£60m, it means we have a better opportunity to raise funds for future development. We will have more potential for greater delivery of contracts dealing with adult social care, and have an opportunity to generate margins.”

Thera Group currently has an income of around £44.5m. It was founded in 1998 and over the past 16 years has developed by taking on projects and taking other organisations into its membership. Its members support adults with a learning disability into their own homes.

As part of the new partnership with the Camden Society, which has an income of around £11.5m, one trustee from the Society will join the Thera Group’s board, and the Thera Group will be a corporate trustee of the Camden Society.

Oppenheim says the organisation’s new governance structure should lead to a better service for its beneficiaries and a better chance at winning government contracts.

He added that no immediate redundancies were planned.

Thera Group has 14 organisations under its banner, including charity Forward Housing which it took over in 2010.