Peabody’s surplus more than doubles while completions jump

Peabody’s spending on existing homes was £445m in 2025-26, up from £430m in the previous year.

This included £211m of capital expenditure, covering substantial decarbonisation improvements and targeted work on damp and mould.

The landlord also spent £234m on planned maintenance and responsive repairs, and increased the size of its local repairs teams.

The group said it continued to “feel the impact of cost pressures in maintenance, investment in residents’ homes, and other property-related costs”.

Its EBITDA MRI interest cover, based on the regulator’s metrics, was 40%, compared to 34% in the previous year.

Last November, the regulator warned that the sector’s overall EBITDA MRI interest cover figure – a key measure of providers’ financial health – is not expected to return to at least 100% until 2028.

Peabody completed 1,911 new homes last year, including 420 for social rent and 627 for shared ownership, and spent £415m on development.

This is an increase of just under 90% on 2024-25, when Peabody completed 1,010 new homes.

There were 288 starts on sites in the last financial year, down from 302 starts in the 12 months to March 2025. The landlord said it currently has more than 5,000 homes in development. 

Its update said: “We continue to respond to the housing crisis in London and the South East, supporting the government’s ambitions to build new social homes where we can. 

“We’re using our own balance sheet but also continue to seek new and innovative ways to support the development of new homes and communities.”

Peabody recently agreed a £50m loan from London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to build more than 500 affordable homes by March 2032.

The landlord said its balance sheet remains strong with fixed assets of over £12bn and “a low level of gearing at 43%”.

Its drawn debt at year-end was £5.02bn, up 5.3% on 2024-25.

Ian McDermott, chief executive of Peabody, said: “The demands on us are higher than ever, with stronger regulation and new safety requirements placing continued pressure on resources.

“At the same time, residents have been clear about where we need to improve, and colleagues have shared valuable insight into how we can do things better. 

“These results show that we are continuing to focus our resources on improving homes and services, while also strengthening our financial performance and delivering on our social purpose. We know that better homes, better services and financial resilience need to go hand in hand.

“We remain acutely aware of the overcrowding and homelessness challenges in London, and how important it has been to complete over 1,900 homes in the last year. 

“We’ll continue to support the delivery of new homes and regeneration in and around London, and to seek new, innovative ways to help make that happen.”

Peabody currently has C2/G1/V2 grades with the English regulator.