LIMA appointed to unify IT for specialist supported housing provider

Specialist supported housing provider Portus Supported Housing has appointed LIMA as its IT managed services partner.

The Greater Manchester-based provider manages 2,340 homes across England and Wales, and also has its own property management division, Portus Property Management. The provider was formed following the merger of Bespoke Supportive Tenancies (BeST) and Westmoreland Supported Housing (WSHL) in late 2025.

LIMA’s brief was to support the merger and modernise and unify IT environments within the new organisation.

The partnership with LIMA is set to deliver greatly improved user experience for Portus    Supported Housing’s 80-strong workforce and drive outstanding service outcomes for its customers.

LIMA has helped the organisation to unpick legacy IT systems and processes, creating a stable, secure and unified platform for Portus Supported Housing to build upon.

The initial overhaul of the core IT environment included a network upgrade to underpin modernised IT services, SharePoint data migration and M365 adoption across the whole organisation.

Following the initial upgrades, LIMA is providing ongoing managed service support as well as Backup as a Service (BaaS) and day-to-day IT help for end users via On Demand Service Desk.

Phase two of the partnership will see LIMA implement a strategic IT roadmap to move Portus Supported Housing towards the implementation of new technologies and processes to bolster security.

Portus Supported Housing Managing Director Tom Hodgson said: “LIMA has an extensive track record of working with specialist supported housing providers. The team immediately understood our challenges and our priorities, and how to translate those into an IT roadmap. The relationship was built very early on through the level of care and expertise they displayed during this process.”

LIMA CRO Ryan Ratcliffe added: “When organisations merge, there is naturally some level of challenge and disruption to IT operations. But with the right approach it can also be a perfect moment to take stock, reset and lay stronger foundations.”

LIMA supports housing organisations up and down the UK with their IT environments and cybersecurity – including Salix Homes, Broadacres Housing Association, Transform Housing and Support, Citizen Housing, Merlin Housing Society, East Lothian Housing Association, Southway Housing Trust and South Oxfordshire Housing Association.