Flagship Finance PLC Trading update and change to executive team (3054M)

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RNS Number : 3054M

Flagship Finance PLC

13 September 2023

Flagship Housing Group Limited (Flagship) trading update, audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 and change to executive team.

Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

Flagship announces the appointment of Jonathan McManus as Chief Financial Officer, effective from 1 October 2023. Jonathan has served as the Group's Finance Director for seven years, and since 1 December 2022 has held the position of Interim CFO. He is a member of the Chartered Global Management Accountants and holds extensive financial expertise.

David McQuade, Chief Executive , said: " After a rigorous selection process, the Board is delighted that Jonathan McManus will be assuming the role of Chief Financial Officer. His experience and commitment to our company's success render him a valuable addition to our Executive team."

Flagship headline results and highlights

Flagship, the parent company of Flagship Finance Plc and a Registered Provider of Social Housing that owns and manages 32,721 (2022: 32,192) homes in the east of England, announces its trading highlights and summary of audited financial results for the year ended 31 March 2023. Highlights include:

-- 750 new homes built during the year: 451 affordable rent; 181 shared ownership, 2 shared equity and 116 open market sale.

-- Financial performance remains robust with annual turnover increasing by 7.9% to GBP250.2m (2022: GBP231.9m)

-- Invested GBP89m (2022: GBP75m) in maintaining and improving its homes delivering a reinvestment percentage of 8.6%, helping Flagship to stand out from its peer group of Registered Providers with a similar number of units.

   --    Annual Operating surpluses of GBP79.6m (2022: GBP83.3m) 
   --    Delivered an operating margin, including gains on disposal, of 31.8% (2022: 35.9%). 
   --    Arrears and void loss both improved year on year. 
   --    Credit rating of A2 (Negative) from Moody's 
   --    G2 / V2 rating from the Regulator of Social Housing - last IDA completed April 2023 

Full year results demonstrate robust financial performance and ongoing commitment to sustainability

It has been a tumultuous year for businesses of all sizes and Flagship has certainly not been immune to those challenges. Our people, business operations and operating performance were impacted by rising energy bills, the cost-of-living crisis, inflation, supply chain disruption and labour shortages. We have navigated these uncertainties and risks with a determined focus and we are proud of our underlying financial viability that enabled our Board to make some important decisions to maintain asset investment, reduce outstanding repairs, and deal with damp and mould amidst a challenging economic environment.

Alongside the financial statements, we have also published our 'Use of Proceeds Report' detailing how the funds raised under our Sustainable Finance Framework have been used.

Both documents are available on our website: www.flagship-group.co.uk/about-us/investors-hub/

Jonathan McManus, Interim Chief Financial Officer at Flagship said:

"Our focus has been on maintaining and improving compliant high-quality affordable homes despite the challenging economic trading environment. We have continued to deliver a strong set of financial results which underpins our healthy liquidity position.

We are pleased that we have remained compliant with the Regulator's Governance and Financial Viability standards following our recent In-Depth Assessment in April 2023. We now have the opportunity to formulate a comprehensive action plan working with the regulator, our people, our tenants and our Board of Directors to further strengthen our governance arrangements as we strive to return to G1 and V1 in the future.

58.9% (2022: 56.6%) of our homes meet EPC-C and we remain on track for all homes to be at EPC-C or above by 2030. We have set ourselves an ambitious goal to be a net zero Flagship by 2050. Our action plan which includes building new homes to SAP 86+, significant retrofit programmes, landfill waste reduction, an all-electric car fleet and a new Environmental Management System will help guide us toward that goal.

Only one six storey property in our portfolio requires internal and external improvement works. Following extensive surveys, we now understand the cost of the works required to be GBP3.25m and this has been outlined in our annual report."

Development Review

Building new homes and improving our existing homes is an integral part of achieving our business plan and delivering our social purpose.

During the year ended 31 March 2023 we have built 750 (2022: 655) new homes across Norfolk (376 homes), Suffolk (251 homes), Cambridgeshire (63 homes) and Essex (60 homes).

We sold 103 open market sale homes and 152 shared ownership homes generating GBP52.8m of income. We further sold additional tranches in 50 existing shared ownership homes generating a further GBP5m of income.

98% (2022: 95%) of the new homes we delivered during the year were built to EPC-B (SAP 81+) or above. We are designing new homes on our own land to be SAP 86+ to meet future net zero emission targets in accordance with our net zero strategy. 42% of homes on our own land were SAP 86+ in 2023, up from just 19% in 2022. Future proofing these properties today, and building renewable technology into their fabric, means that we do not have to retrofit them in the future reducing the overall cost of investment required in each property.

Damp and Mould

We're committed to eradicating damp and mould in our homes. We have introduced a comprehensive suite of initiatives during the year, both shorter term interventions and longer-term proactive measures to deliver our commitment. We welcome government legislation and are working tirelessly to ensure our homes are safe and healthy for our tenants. We will continue to work closely with our tenants and partners to understand the best methods and utilise existing and emerging technologies to prevent damp and mould.

Enquiries

All enquiries in relation to this trading update should be directed to:

Jonathan McManus Interim Chief Financial Officer

Tel: [phone]

email: [e-mail]

Disclaimer

The information in this announcement of results has been prepared by Flagship Housing Group Limited and is for information purposes only. The announcement should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities issued by Flagship Finance Plc or any other member of the Group, or any interest in such securities, and nothing herein should be construed as a recommendation or advice to invest in any such securities.

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements reflecting, among other things, our current views on markets, activities and prospects. By their nature, forward looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. Actual and audited outcomes may differ materially. Such statements are a correct reflection of our views only on the publication date and no representation or warranty is given in relation to them, including as to their completeness or accuracy or the basis on which they were prepared. Financial results quoted are audited. We do not undertake to update or revise such public statements as our expectations change in response to events. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward looking statements.

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September 13, 2023 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)