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Home Group blames Brexit for missed development target
Large housing association Home Group has blamed the fact it missed its target for development surplus on the uncertainty around Brexit.
Home Group revealed its development surplus of £12m for the year in its annual accounts. The figure was only a slight decrease on the previous year’s figure of £12.6m but was well below its target for the year of £16.9m.
The 55,000-home association, which develops homes across the country, said the missed target was “mainly as a result of the slowdown in the property market following uncertainty around Brexit”.
It added: “Our development team is working on a number of initiatives to ensure our overall development strategy will be met, however we do not consider a formal improvement plan to be necessary as the result was due to external factors outside of our control.”
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The UK is currently scheduled to leave the EU on 31 October, although a bill currently going through parliament could delay this until January.
Overall, Home Group made a surplus for the year of £47m, a slight decrease from its figure for the previous year, which was £51.8m.
It brought in a total turnover of £367.3m, which was slightly up on the previous year, when it took in £364.7m. Of this, 69% came from social housing lettings and less than 1% came from properties developed for outright sale.
Home Group’s accounts also revealed that its income from supported housing in the year fell by £21.8m, which it said was the result of it continuing “to transition our offering in line with the strategy”.
Home Group worked with around 20,000 vulnerable people in its supported housing and health services, it said.
It added, however, that part of its strategy has involved decommissioning some supported housing services “as we shift to new products in line with our strategic objectives”.
This is part of Home Group’s strategic plan for 2022, which has four goals: to build 10,000 new homes, to deliver new models of care, to ensure 90% of its tenants are regularly using their digital accounts and to be 20% more efficient.
John Cridland, chair of Home Group’s board, wrote in his statement: “Overall, our performance in the year to 31 March 2019 has been extremely strong, particularly when the economic and political climates are considered. We head into another financial year still uncertain what Brexit will, or won’t, bring.”
