TIDM15HG
RNS Number : 0369O
Great Places Housing Group Limited
28 September 2023
GREAT PLACES HOUSING GROUP LIMITED
GBP345,000,000 4.75 per cent Secured Bonds due 2042 (ISIN Number
XS0842152281)
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH 2023
At the AGM of Great Places Housing Group Limited ("Great
Places") on 21st September 2023 the shareholders agreed and adopted
the Financial Statements for the year ending 31st March 2023.
It should be noted that the Financial Statements contain several
references to the intended merger between Great Places Housing
Group and Mosscare St Vincents Housing Group (MSV) which was to
take place during the 2023/24 financial year, however since signing
the accounts the merger discussions have ended.
Links to the Financial Statements, and the statement issued on
15(th) September 2023 regarding the ending of merger discussions,
are provided at the end of this announcement.
In 2022/23 the Group generated Turnover of GBP168M, up by 1%
from the GBP166M recorded in 2021/22 with Turnover from social
housing lettings of GBP121.3M (2021/22: GBP114.8M).
Turnover from shared ownership first tranche sales and open
market sales was GBP34.3M (2021/22: GBP40.0M) and, whilst lower
than the prior year, is in line with our planned Development
Programme.
Operating surplus of GBP45.9M was 1.8% lower than 2021/22 with
Operating Margin declining slightly to 23.6% from 25.3% (as defined
by the RSH VFM metric). The reduction was mainly due to the
inflationary increases around maintenance costs and building safety
costs.
Total Fixed Assets were GBP1.48bn (2022/23: GBP1.41bn).
Total debt was GBP697.8M (2021/22: GBP709.1M) with the majority
of our debt, 95.4% being fixed rate and protecting us from the high
interest rates seen during the year. In addition, we held Group
cash balances of GBP96m.
Operational performance remained strong despite the challenging
economic and operating environments and external pressures
including rising material and labour costs, significantly
increasing energy costs and high inflation levels. In addition,
there was a cap on rents, imposed by Government, effective from
April 2023, that was well below the levels of inflation, which adds
to the many challenges that we face.
We had expected that general inflationary pressures to
significantly impact tenant arrears, however this was mitigated by
support provided to our tenants through energy bill support and our
Hardship and Community Resilience Funds. W e recognise that the
cost of living crisis will continue to put increased pressure on
arrears performance.
Customer safety remains paramount, and we continue to assess our
buildings and carry out works to meet building safety legislation,
spending GBP2.2m during 2022/23.
Our commitment to improving energy efficiency in our homes is
continuing, with a target to achieve EPC C by 2028, and we have
been successful in securing GBP1.4m of funding from the Social
Housing Decarbonisation Fund which will be match funded by Great
Places. We plan to use this to support the installation of energy
performance measures in 396 of our homes in Manchester and
Sheffield. We have also been successful in our bid for GBP1.6m of
grant funding to improve heat networks which serve circa 300
residents.
Repairs continue to be the most regularly accessed service by
our customers, with approximately 58,000 repairs requests during
2022/23 equating to approximately 225 jobs each working day. The
greater demand during 2022/23 can be partially attributed to
increased media focus on property condition in the sector, together
with our proactive campaigns to report issues, with damp and mould
inspections increasing significantly since October 2022. Resources
have been prioritised on these inspections and rectification works
with the vast majority highlighting issues around high condensation
levels and increased humidity rather than severe structural issues.
The works associated with these inspections are being delivered by
both the in-house and sub-contractor teams.
During the year we completed 649 much needed new affordable
homes and, at 31(st) March 2023, own or manage 25,474 homes across
the North West and South Yorkshire.
In addition to the completions, there were 852 affordable homes
started across 17 sites and despite the continuing challenges for
the development sector, as at the end of March 2023, we had 37 live
sites with around 1,600 new homes being built.
The Group is committed to playing its part in tackling the
housing crisis and providing much needed affordable homes. In
September 2021, we were extremely pleased to be selected as a
Strategic Partner for the Strategic Partnership 2 with Homes
England, securing GBP240.8m of grant funding to help us to deliver
4,920 homes by 2028. The challenges faced, including increasing
cost pressures meant that we recently held further discussions
around our delivery expectations with Homes England and we can
confirm that our delivery volumes will be reducing slightly to
4,500 and our grant increasing to GBP270m.
The Regulator of Social housing (the "regulator") graded Great
Places as G1/V2 in December 2022 as part of a review cycle. The
regrade to V2 for so many in the sector is reflective of the
environment in which we operate, however retaining our G1 grade
demonstrates our strong Governance and Financial Management
arrangements helping us manage any increased risks.
Our credit ratings with Moodys, A3 and Fitch, A+, were also
reaffirmed during the year demonstrating that we remain a
financially strong and resilient organisation with strong
governance and a sound business strategy.
As a profit for purpose organisation, we ensure that all our
surpluses are invested in line with our values and to meet our
vision of "Great Homes, Great People, Great Communities".
The Financial Statements for Great Places are available on our
website at:
https://www.greatplaces.org.uk/about-us/corporate-and-investor-information/financial-accounts
Great Places statement from 15(th) September 2023 with regards
to merger discussions:
https://www.greatplaces.org.uk/?news=great-places-and-msv-end-merger-talks
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END
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