Resignation Board dispute could be to blame as housing’s best-paid executive leaves
Belcher quits Anchor Trust
Anchor Trust’s chief executive has left the organisation.
John Belcher, the highest paid housing association chief executive with a total package last year of £391,000, has resigned to ‘pursue other business interests’, a spokesperson for the 37,163-home landlord said.
Deputy chief executive Jane Ashcroft is now acting as chief executive of the trust, which specialises in housing for older people. The Anchor spokesperson would not confirm whether Mr Belcher was also still in post on Wednesday, but she said that Ms Ashcroft was currently acting chief executive.
It is alleged that Mr Belcher left the organisation after a disagreement with its board. When the allegations were put to Anchor it did not deny them and said it would not comment on them. Mr Belcher said he was in meetings and could not comment until the day after Inside Housing went to press.
The spokesperson confirmed that another senior Anchor executive, managing director of housing services Barbara Laing, had also left the organisation. Ms Laing is believed to have stood down in the last few weeks. She could not be reached for comment.
A statement from Anchor said: ‘Aman Dalvi, chair, has confirmed that John Belcher has resigned from the role of chief executive of Anchor Trust to pursue other business interests. Jane Ashcroft, currently deputy chief executive, will become acting chief executive.’
Mr Belcher’s pay has been a source of controversy. He was the highest paid housing association chief executive for two consecutive years.
Last year he received a 20 per cent pay rise and took home £391,000 in salary, bonuses and benefits. Conservative shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said the rise was ‘deeply inappropriate’ in a recession. But Anchor said it competed with private sector retirement developers which paid their executives larger sums.
In the past five years, Anchor’s turnover has increased by 20 per cent, while Mr Belcher’s salary has shot up 85 per cent. But in 2008/09 its turnover increased by just 0.8 per cent and it made a £35 million loss, including a £12.4 million write-down.
Anchor, which employs 10,707 staff, has also seen its operating surplus drop from £33.4 million in 2005 to £5.7 million in 2009. The 2009 drop was primarily because of a reduction in property sales, and start-up and restructuring costs in two of its businesses, the trust said.
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Readers' comments (34)
kass | 06/11/2009 2:48 pm
Well, good by Mr Belcher... that's £391,000 savings for anchor. Not a bad move at all... Let's hope the anchor board (who should be the ones to blame for apy9ing him so much in the first place) this time won't waste it all by paying the next cheif executive so much money... Any annual salary above £120,000 to the next chief executive should be condemned as totally inappropriate. Hopefully, the next chief executive will publish how the difference between his/her salary and Mr Belcher's is being used on giving better services to their tenants.
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Mrs Lois Hayward | 07/11/2009 12:10 pm
I was shocked to read how much money Mr Belcher was receiving in payment for his services to Anchor Trust.
It makes me wonder how Anchor can justify this in the light of all the problems we live with at Pembroke Court, Pendlebury, M27 4DY.
We have very old metal window frames which are single glazed and have been in since the property was built in the early seventies and because of their age and countless layers of paint no longer seal. Our heating system is one of the kind that is no longer being used in buildings it is the most expensive and extremely inificient to keep our homes warm at a reasonable cost. It is electric warm air heating and our electricity bills have gone up by a massive 87% this quarter, we have no way of competeing in energy conservation.
Our bathrooms and kitchens are badly in need of refurbishing.
Our rents are much higher than all other sheltered housing in this area.
So a fond fare well to you and your massive wage bill Mr Belcher.
Now dare I suggest that the money Anchor are saving by Mr Belchers departure that some badly needed upgrading of the outdated and most expensive heating system be made in our homes and also double glazed new window frames be installed here at Pembroke Court.
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Peter | 09/11/2009 9:33 am
Sadly, Mrs Hayward it is the Anchor Board who is responsible for Mr Belcher's salary. It is they who should be held accountable for the ludicrous salary paid to Mr Belcher and all the problems of Pembroke Court.
I suggest you find out who are the share holders, the Board members of Anchor and write to them all, expressing your dissatisfaction and concerns. You should also get your neighbours to join in your campaign (that would be even better) and pressure Anchor to improve the living conditions of Pembroke Court.
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kass | 09/11/2009 10:22 am
Peter | Mon, 9 Nov 2009 09:33 GMT...
I agree strongly with your point... the board is responsible in the end... All these social landlords claiming to be caring and having less and less complaints are just merchants of lies, because unless tenants organise and force to do the right things they never will.
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JCRennie | 09/11/2009 6:18 pm
Anchor Trust does not care! Fact. I work for a housing association and my grannie lives with Anchor Trust. Anchor do not consult with there tenants and I know of a time when in a meeting a tenant was told by Anchor that if they idint like it to find a different place to live. That is horrible, especially as this organisation say they care about the people who live there. They make changes and then tell the tenants. The attitude is despiccable. My Gran had a massive increase in rent this year, and now some of the services to the scheme are being cut, and they are told it is the decision of head office and the tenants forum at anchor, and there is nothing they can do about it.
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Shirley-Anne Dyson | 09/11/2009 6:35 pm
Dear Kass and Peter;
I live in an Anchor scheme and I can assure anyone who may be curious that tenants with Anchor Trust have absolutely no powers when it comes to decisions affecting how they live. We have the so called Tenants Forum who seem to do little than nod to Anchors suggestions in return for a free lunch; and a couple of meetings a year whereupon we are read to from a script and told how things are going to be. We get the Anchor News which informs us a couple of times a year what decisions have been made on our behalf, and an obligatory customer survey which potrays Anchor tenants as grinning easily pleased pensioners, grateful to have a roof over our heads.
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JPJ2 | 09/11/2009 7:00 pm
I would very much like to know whether or not Mr Belcher has benn given a bloated severance package nodded through by this supine Board
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Jack Bovill | 09/11/2009 9:13 pm
My view as an Anchor Tenant is a sigh of great relief. He introduced a climate of fear among the front line staff; he changed the focus of the job from one concerned with people to one concerned with bricks and mortar; he misused Heath and Safety to make the lives of residents constrained, limited and isolated.
I would hope with his departure that the Aims of the Anchor Trust will come to mean what the words ordinarily mean: 1. Providing support, care and housing which meets their individual choices. 2. Creating opportunities for them to express their views. 3. Listening to what they want. 4. Involving them in planning services to meet their needs and preferences. 5. Promoting ideas, policies and actions that meet their aspirations. 6. Relating and working with partners and local communities.
For example there is a document the Year 2020, which sets out the type of accommodation most needed NOW. When managers were asked to act now and bring 2020 a bit closer while we are alive, we are told, no that cannot be done, when in fact it was discussed here seven years ago. It involves making three adjacent bedsits into two one bed flats. This type of accommodation would greatly improve our lives.
The Trustees of Anchor did the right thing in getting rid of him, if it was them that did this. Front line staff need to be paid properly for the job they all want to do, which is to care for and look after the residents. There are still people left who value people. Here at Sybil Thorndike our residents' committee had as its aim: Making Sybil Thorndike House a welcoming and safe place for staff and residents. If the staff don't feel safe, what chance have the residents?
Jack Bovill
ps. I am on two Ministerial Committees headed up by Barnoness Andrews. I don't hold out much hope there either.
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Rob | 09/11/2009 9:34 pm
I am very satisfied to hear that the CEO has resigned. I only hope that his successor will not feather her own nest in a similar fashion. The salary this guy has been payng himself, obviously sanctioned by the Board is obscene, and resembles our crooked bankers. NOBODY is worth £1253 per working day - £156 per hour!! Let's hope that Anchor will now spend more funds on maintenance and refurbishing. We all know how much this is needed.
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Jim Paton | 10/11/2009 3:16 am
The conditions at Pembroke Court compared with Belcher's salary would also be of interest to your local paper. A few journos ringing Anchor for their comment might have a surprising effect in getting things done.
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