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Major Midlands landlord predicts 41% drop in annual completions
A large Midlands landlord is forecasting a 41% fall in annual completions, but is expecting an uptick for the rest of the decade as it eyes a merger with a regional neighbour.
A large Midlands landlord is forecasting a 41% fall in annual completions, but is expecting an uptick for the rest of the decade as it eyes a merger with a regional neighbour #UKhousingWHG, which is currently in merger talks with Aspire Housing, has revealed it expects to complete 276 homes in the year to the end of March 2026.
This will compare to 467 handovers the previous year. In the nine months to the end of December, WHG completed 220 new homes.
It comes as many landlords have cut back on development to spend more on improving their existing stock. In an update to investors, WHG, which manages around 22,780 homes across 22 local authorities in the Midlands, pointed to a “challenging operating backdrop”.
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However, across its six-year development strategy, the Walsall-based group is hoping to have completed 2,478 homes by March 2030. To hit this target, the group is forecasting it will complete 522 homes in its 2029-30 financial year.
Earlier this month, WHG announced it was in talks to merge with the smaller Staffordshire-based Aspire to form a 32,000-home group. The enlarged organisation is hoping to target efficiency savings in an effort to build more homes.
Elsewhere in its update, WHG revealed it spent £17.8m on capital improvements in the year to date, plus £18.7m on repairs and maintenance over the same period.
The group is forecasting an annual turnover of £147.2m, which will be a slight rise on last year.
In the year to date, WHG has completed 47 first-tranche shared ownership sales, bringing in revenue of £5m. Its operating surplus is expected to be £47.1m, but no predicted full-year figure for net surplus was disclosed.
In its last full year, WHG saw its surplus drop by a quarter year-on-year to £24.4m.
The group is also forecasting a recovery in its overall operating margin to 32%, compared to 27% the year before.
This is likely to be helped by a rise in its income from social housing lettings to £138m and an uptick in margin to 26%, from 24% the year before, WHG has predicted.
It also pointed to a predicted gearing figure of 36%, down from 38% last year, which it said would be “sufficient” capacity to continue to develop new homes.
WHG, which was formed in 2003 following a large-scale voluntary transfer from Walsall Council, currently has top grades with the English regulator of G1/V1/C1.
Moody’s last month retained its A2 credit rating for WHG and a stable outlook, but noted its “high debt burden”.
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