Platform HG Financing PLC Platform Housing Full Year Results

RNS Number : 4659Y

Platform HG Financing PLC

31 July 2024

 

31 July 2024

Platform HG Financing Plc

Platform Housing Group Limited

Results for the year to 31 March 2024

 

Highlights

 

·    Turnover growth of 12.4% to £337m (Mar-23: £300m), with 94% of revenues coming from core social housing activities (Mar-23: 94%)

·    Operating surpluses of £67.4m (Mar-23: £82.1m): affected by one-off pension cessation accounting entries of £18m relating to the exit of a number of defined benefit pension schemes 

·    Core social housing lettings margin of 32% in line with prior year (Mar-23: 32.1%)

·    Investment in existing homes up over 60%

·    Investment in new homes up 25%

·    Arrears of 2.8% consistent with prior year (Mar-23: 2.6%)

·    Credit rating of A+ (stable) with S&P and Fitch affirmed

·    Highest regulatory gradings ('G1/V1') affirmed following scheduled In-depth Assessment

·    New £275m sustainability linked banking facilities

·    New £250m sustainable bond issued shortly after quarter end   

 

At or for the year 31 March		2023	2024	Change
Turnover		£300.0m	£337.1m	12.4%
Social housing lettings turnover		£248.2m	£274.2m	10.5%
Operating surplus(1)		£82.1m	£67.4m	-17.9%
New homes completed		1,114	1,202	7.9%
Investment in new homes		£250.6m	£313.2m	25%
Investment in existing homes(5)		£24.4m	£39.4m	61.5%
Share of turnover from social housing lettings		82.7%	81.3%	-1.4ppt
Social housing lettings margin(2)		32.1%	32%	-0.1ppt
Current tenant arrears(3)(4)		2.6%	2.8%	+0.2ppt
Gearing(2)(4)		43.4%	45.7%	+2.3ppt
EBITDA-MRI interest cover(2)		187%	129%	-58ppt
EBITDA-MRI interest cover - adjusted for one-off pension costs(6)		187%	162%	-25ppt

 

Notes

(1)   Surplus excluding gains on disposal of property, plant and equipment

(2)   Regulator for Social Housing Value for Money metric; for more information go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/value-for-money-metrics-technical-note

(3)   Current tenant arrears includes all general needs tenants (this excludes shared ownership properties)

(4)   Figures as at 31 March (as opposed to accumulated over the period to March)

(5)   Investment in existing homes includes capital expenditure on maintenance and decarbonisation works

(6)   EBITDA-MRI interest cover calculated excluding £18m one-off pension cessation costs relating to the exit from a number of defined benefit schemes

 

 

Elizabeth Froude, Platform's CEO commented:

"At the start of this year we undertook a mid-term review of our 2021-26 Corporate Strategy. The outcomes were ones of simplification of priorities and an ongoing commitment to all key delivery areas and our mission is one of investing for the future of the organisation and our communities.  Our highest priorities for this year were about investing to support the quality of our homes, their energy standards and the services we deliver to our customers.  This has remained our focus throughout the year and the areas of increased expenditure reflect that.  Our underlying operating margins have declined slightly as a result, but still remains one of the strongest in the sector and directly reflects the priorities agreed.  We continue to focus on keeping controllable costs as tight as possible, whilst improving our technology base, which can be seen in our sector management cost per unit. 

 

Investment in our existing homes has again stepped-up year on year from £24.4m to £39.4m (up 61.5%), including an increase in energy improvement works from £5.5m to £8.5m (up 55.5%) and 76% of our stock is now EPC C or better.   

 

We see every day the ongoing need for more affordable housing in our geography and as a key Strategic Partner for Homes England remain committed to building the much-needed new homes to help with waiting lists and overcrowding across our Local Authority areas of operation.  This year again saw a step up in both our starts on site (1,534 homes) and completions (1,202 homes) all of which are affordable tenures.  We have strong partnerships and our pipeline for new development is over 3,000 homes in contract or construction, all of which will be EPC B or above and includes net zero carbon and 'zero bills' homes as well.

 

The demand for Shared Ownership homes in our area of operation remains good and any variation in sales figures reflect the timing of handover on development schemes.  We do have very varied markets for sales and rental across our geography and this is the primary variation in sales values.  We are intentional in the type and price point of the properties we build to ensure they are accessible for the people who work and live in our localities, with many of our homes at a price point to make them accessible for key workers.  Valuations continue to hold up and proportions being acquired as first tranche are ahead of budget.

 

The scale of regulation and legislative change affecting customers and asset management in the sector remains a focus and big demand for all landlords.  The new Consumer Standard was launched in April 2023.  In preparation for this we undertook an exercise to baseline our business over the previous year and we're pleased that satisfaction has improved from baseline levels.  The number of complaints received has increased in the year, as has been seen across the sector, and we are working hard to improve response times and to embed lessons learned from complaints, to improve services.   We continue to recruit at scale and invest in transformation of asset management systems and processes to ensure we remain in control and are able to drive the best outcomes for our residents through our investment and compliance programmes.  With our in-house maintenance business continuing to grow and in-source more service areas we continue to deliver good compliance standards and strong customer satisfaction with repairs at 87% at the year end."

 

 

 

Disclaimer

These materials have been prepared by Platform Housing solely for use in publishing and presenting its results in respect of the year ended 31 March 2024. 

 

These materials do not constitute or form part of and should not be construed as, an offer to sell or issue, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire securities of Platform Housing in any jurisdiction or an inducement to enter into investment activity. No part of these materials, nor the fact of their distribution, should form the basis of, or be relied on or in connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decision whatsoever. Neither should the materials be construed as legal, tax, financial, investment or accounting advice. This information presented herein does not comprise a prospectus for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018 (the UK Prospectus regulation) and/or Part VI of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

 

These materials contain statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, business and future prospects of Platform Housing that are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including many factors outside Platform Housing's control. Among other risks and uncertainties, the material or principal factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are: the general economic, business, political and social conditions in the key markets in which Platform Housing operates; the ability of Platform Housing to manage regulatory and legal matters; the reliability of Platform Housing's technological infrastructure or that of third parties on which it relies; interruptions in Platform Housing's supply chain and disruptions to its development activities; Platform Housing's reputation; and the recruitment and retention of key management. No representations are made as to the accuracy of such forward looking statements, estimates or projections or with respect to any other materials herein. Actual results may vary from the projected results contained herein.

 

These materials contain certain information which has been prepared in reliance on publicly available information (the "Public Information"). Numerous assumptions may have been used in preparing the Public Information, which may or may not be reflected herein. Actual events may differ from those assumed and changes to any assumptions may have a material impact on the position or results shown by the Public Information. As such, no assurance can be given as to the Public Information's accuracy, appropriateness or completeness in any particular context, or as to whether the Public Information and/or the assumptions upon which it is based reflect present market conditions or future market performance. Platform Housing does not make any representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the Public Information.

 

These materials are believed to be in all material respects accurate, although it has not been independently verified by Platform and does not purport to be all-inclusive. The information and opinions contained in these materials do not purport to be comprehensive, speak only as of the date of this announcement and are subject to change without notice. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, Platform Housing expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any information contained herein to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such information is based.

 

None of Platform Housing, its advisers nor any other person shall have any liability whatsoever, to the fullest extent permitted by law, for any loss arising from any use of the materials or its contents or otherwise arising in connection with the materials. No representations or warranty is given as to the achievement or reasonableness of any projections, estimates, prospects or returns contained in these materials or any other information. Neither Platform nor any other person connected to it shall be liable (whether in negligence or otherwise) for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of relying on any statement in or omission from these materials or any other information and any such liability is expressly disclaimed.

 

Any reference to "Platform" or "Platform Housing" means Platform Housing Group Limited and its subsidiaries from time to time and their respective directors, representatives or employees and/or any persons connected with them.

Operating review

 

Introduction

 

We are pleased to share our year end results for the year to March 2024, which shares some of the key financial, operational and sustainability-related results and achievements that characterised our year.      

 

During the year the local, national and global landscape has continued to be challenging.  Political and economic headwinds persist, with higher cost of borrowing, greater regulatory requirements, and below-inflation rental increases (capped by the UK Government) stretching resources from which to deliver our objectives.  We recognise that we have an important role to play in improving the lives of our customers in spite of these challenges, by helping those struggling to access homes on the open market to find a quality, affordable and sustainable home.  Our Corporate Strategy, which was reviewed in the year, remains focussed on delivering a customer-first housing experience for a better future and does so by investing in our existing homes, the delivery of new homes, and sector-leading customer service throughout. 

 

Our metrics remain robust, with overall turnover 12% higher than the prior year period.  Lettings turnover, which represents our core operations and 81% of overall turnover, was up 11%, with shared ownership sales turnover up 22%.  Operating surpluses and overall margins have been affected primarily by a one-off £18m accounting charge applied on exiting a number of defined benefit schemes, in addition to other pressures as we continue to balance investment in homes, customer services and high-cost inflation.  In spite of this, our underlying margins continue to be amongst the best in the sector and we remain committed to the maintenance of strong credit metrics. 

 

Service review

 

Supporting our customers, welfare benefits and arrears

We offer a range of services to our customers that ensure they are supported to achieve the best outcomes available.  These services include everyday touch points such as maintenance activities, community events and tenancy 'health checks', support with finding work, financial support through debt and welfare benefits advice, through to direct support from our Wellbeing Fund. 

 

In the year we helped over 6,400 customers with advice that generated approximately £3m in additional grants and benefits.  In addition, we continue to partner with the Money and Pensions Service and the Local Energy Action Partnership who provide specialist debt management and energy advice as well as Stay Nimble, a certified social enterprise that delivers award-winning career development support via an always-on digital platform. 

 

Our Wellbeing Fund helps us target those customers who are most in need with essentials such as food, clothing and white goods.  The fund, which was originally established during the Covid-19 pandemic, was maintained for the third year in a row, allocating £1.1m to help approximately 3,500 customers.  The Fund also supported community initiatives across our operating area, allocating £70,000 to warm hubs, foodbanks and donations to other charitable organisations who work to support customers living in Platform communities.

 

We value customer engagement when shaping our services and strengthened the customer voice in the year by evolving our former Customer Experience Panel into the Customer Voice Panel (CVP).  The CVP has been enlarged to involve more customers, is now chaired by a member of the Group Board and has two new sub-committees that are focussed on customers and assets.  

 

We use customer satisfaction to help us gauge whether our services are improving and it's pleasing to report that satisfaction, as measured through our extensive suite of surveys (over 30,000 responses to satisfaction surveys during the year), increased to 76% (2023: 71%), which is a considerable achievement in what has been a very challenging year. 

 

Year	Satisfaction	Target
To March 23	71%	75%
To March 24	76%	75%

 

On top of these transactional surveys we have started collecting satisfaction scores from perception surveys as part of Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs). The TSMs are required to be collected as part of new Consumer Standards introduced by the Regulator of Social Housing in the year.  In comparison to our baseline survey scores, which were based on the year to March 2023, it is pleasing to note that we have shown improvement in ten of the measures, with the other two showing no change. However, we are aware that we have much to improve and are investing in our services to ensure that these improvements are realised.

 

Our arrears performance, including customers in receipt of Universal Credit, general needs and shared ownership tenants, remains robust with arrears of 2.8% only slightly up on the prior year (2.6%). 

 

Voids management

At the end of the year there were 394 void rental properties (Mar-23: 323) and 222 void properties awaiting sale on a shared ownership basis (Mar-23: 87).  Void loss as a proportion of turnover was 2% (£5.3m), up from 1.3% (£3.1m) in the prior year.  This is in part due to higher void losses on shared ownership homes awaiting sale, which were adversely affected by extended time to reach sales completions for some 'stock plots' acquired from developers, for which there is no pre-completion marketing time.  Tenancy terminations averaged 219 per month during the year, slightly lower than the prior year (Mar-23: 230).  Good progress was made during the year in reducing the number of longer-term voids (properties void for over 100 days) from a peak of 66 down to just over 20 at the year-end, through new and targeted marketing initiatives.

 

Relet times for all tenures were 65 days, down from 71 in the prior year, in spite of the reduction in longer term voids (which negatively impact relet days when let).  The improvement was supported by a reduction in the number of days taken to carry out void repairs.     

 

Digital integration and security

We have continued to advance our digital business strategy in the year, launching several key systems which will significantly enhance our operational efficiency and data capabilities.  These include a new finance system (Microsoft Dynamics), HR system (iTrent) and a refreshed version of our Customer Relationship Management solution (Microsoft Dynamics CRM) - all of which will deliver new ways or working. 

 

As well as supporting our customers with training to improve digital intelligence, we have enhanced our customer service offerings.  Our chatbot and portal improvements have resulted in over half of our customer contacts now occurring through digital channels.

 

Over the past year we've made significant strides in enhancing our cybersecurity, ensuring the Group remains resilient against an evolving landscape of cyber threats. One of the most impactful improvements has been the establishment of a Security Operations Center. This around-the-clock monitoring and incident response capability has vastly improved our ability to detect, analyse, and respond to security incidents in real-time.  We have also procured enhanced cyber insurance coverage, providing protection against a wide range of cyber incidents including data breaches and ransomware attacks, offering financial support for recovery and mitigation efforts.  On top of this a number of cybersecurity audits were completed during the year, providing valuable insights on areas for improvement and assurance over existing controls.  By implementing the recommendations from these audits, we have strengthened our defences, improved compliance with industry standards, and reinforced our commitment to maintaining robust cybersecurity practices.  We maintain compliance with the ISO27001 information security certification, the international standard for information security.

 

Asset management

During the year Platform has focussed efforts on providing high quality asset management whilst managing works relating to damp, mould and condensation claims.  We recognise that the delivery of capital replacement programmes are key to maintaining decency levels and reducing responsive repairs and have therefore increased expenditure of replacement components in year. The recruitment of a number of new posts has helped to deliver more work through our internal delivery vehicle, Platform Property Care (PPC), to control the quality of service and drive improvements in customer satisfaction, however we are seeing a continuing trend of increasing numbers of repairs raised which has an impact on end-to-end times to complete a repair.  In a challenging environment, including cost inflation, labour shortages and a key supplier going into administration, additional fire, heating, kitchen and bathroom contractors have successfully been taken on to help deliver over 7,000 replacements and upgrades.

Repairs satisfaction averaged 87% for the year, in line with the prior year (Mar-23: 87%) but still below our target of 92%.  Similar to others across the sector we continue to see high volumes of repairs' complaints and requests in relation to damp and condensation mould. These are being managed effectively and, in comparison to 148,000 repairs delivered last year, represent a very low percentage of our overall interactions with customers.  In response the Group has taken on new surveyors and co-ordinators to make sure we respond effectively and efficiently to these urgent cases, and a detailed tracker has been put into place to provide greater visibility of the cases raised.  The Group continues to use a triage service utilising video call technology to allow us to identify and prioritise any urgent issues.

During the year we continued with our Switchee pilot project, which involves installing smart technology into homes that will help monitor energy efficiency improvements to homes retrofitted, assess the risk of condensation mould and other benefits such as monitoring the time taken to heat the property.  An additional 900 Switchee smart thermostat devices were purchased in November 2023 and will be used for homes identified for retrofit measures under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund 'Wave 2'. 

The Cost Sharing Vehicle (CSV) arrangement within Platform's maintenance subsidiary, PPC, which provides a VAT efficient way of providing asset management services to members at cost, was expanded on 1 April 2023 as Stonewater Limited (Stonewater) was welcomed.  The scope of works delivered to Stonewater was expanded in the year from delivering repairs, void works and grounds maintenance, to include electrical testing within the same operating geography. The scale of the CSV generates efficiencies by reducing travel time and sharing best practices.

Environmental, social and governance ('ESG')

Platform considers ESG to be a key part of its core operations and strategy, as highlighted by the five core priorities within our Corporate Strategy, which was refreshed in December 2023:

 

1.   Investment in existing stock, including the move to EPC 'C' and carbon neutral targets;

2.   Improving customer services, including reduction in complaints, compensation and an increase in customer satisfaction;

3.   Compliance in relation to requirements from the Regulator of Social Housing and other legislative and statutory expectations;

4.   Completion of our transformation processes;

5.   Employee retention, engagement and well-being.

 

We continue to support the sector and investor led Sustainability Reporting Standard (SRS), publishing performance against the SRS as part of our Sustainability Report in July 2024, together with an impact analysis of funding raised through our Sustainable Finance Framework (the Framework).  Both the Sustainability Report and Framework are available to download from the Investor Centre section of the Platform website.  

 

Environmental

Platform is committed to the decarbonisation of its operations and has established a Sustainability Team in order to achieve this.  Our Sustainability and ESG Strategy, which has been drafted in the period, takes a holistic approach to this by not only looking at our homes but also our business, people and the communities in which we operate. 

 

We continue to monitor the Energy Performance Certificate (EPCs) scores of our homes as we move towards all homes being EPC 'C' or better by 2030.  At the end of March 2024 76% of homes were rated EPC C or above and over 98% were rated at D or above.

 

Our Retrofit Team is establishing a programme based on the principles of fabric first, future proofing and no fossil fuels, to ensure that we both transition all homes to above EPC C by 2030 and progress beyond that to net zero carbon by 2050.  During the year we completed works relating to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund's 'Wave One' and commenced 'Wave Two'.  As part of these works we have seen a greater focus on the fabric of our homes, getting them ready for heat pumps and solar PV panels at a later date.  In the year we installed the following retrofit measures:

 

	2024	2023
Heat pumps (air/ground source)	101	211
Solar PV panels	14	273
External wall insulation	15	1

 

Social

Making a social contribution is at the core of what we do, by managing existing affordable housing, delivering new affordable housing and actively enhancing the communities in which we operate. 

 

We are committed to providing genuinely affordable housing and as at March 2024 our rents were 64% of open market rent in the areas in which we operate (Mar-23: 63%).  Over 99% of all of our homes are for an affordable tenure and during the year 100% of our homes developed were affordable tenures.   

 

During the year we took part in the Value of a Social Tenancy Project, which is aimed at enabling housing associations to understand the social value impact of different tenancy types across the geographic regions of the UK, alongside the benefits of annual spending on building and maintaining these properties. The findings from the project will not only allow us to report the positive impact that our homes have on local communities, but also allow us to strategically plan our development and regeneration programmes to deliver the most beneficial types of tenancies based on the needs of a particular area. 

 

Our work in community engagement and investment was recognised by winning in the 'Community Impact' category at the 2024 Building Communities Awards.  The award recognises professionalism, excellence and innovation within housing and construction and our entry focused on the positive impact we've had on our communities and the notable benefits for local people and their surrounding environments.  These included:

 

·    Our Christmas Kindness campaign, which provided funding to community groups who support those in need over the Christmas period with donations and events, supported 114 groups with over £65,000 in funding; 

·    Working in partnership with Tutors United to provide educational support in english and maths to children aged 8-11 years old using funding from our Wellbeing Fund. The initiative helps support children to improve their numeracy and literacy by attending weekly sessions and has seen notable improvements;

·    Working with Ukrainian refugees to help develop a range of events and initiatives, which have helped them to feel part of a safe and inclusive local community.

 

Governance

The activities of the Group are supported by a commitment to the highest standards of governance and financial viability.  The Regulator of Social Housing performed a scheduled In-depth Assessment of the Group in the fourth quarter of the year, focussed on both governance and viability.  Following the assessment the regulator affirmed the highest governance and viability ratings of 'G1/V1'. 

 

In addition to regulatory assessments, we are rated by both S&P Global and Fitch Ratings.  Our A+ (stable outlook) rating was affirmed by S&P in January 2024 and our Fitch rating of A+ (negative outlook) was affirmed earlier in the year (October 2023).  In April 2024 the outlook with Fitch was improved to 'stable', which followed a similar move to the UK Sovereign rating outlook (due to the expected support given by the UK Government to distressed organisations in the UK social housing sector, both the outlook and ratings are affected by the UK Sovereign rating).

 

During the year two new members joined the Platform Group Board.  Jane Wynne was appointed to replace David Clark in July 2023 and Ian Ailles was appointed a board member and chair of the Group Audit and Risk Committee, replacing Sebastian Bull.  Jane has previous experience as a non-executive director in the affordable housing sector and has worked in public, private and housing sectors, particularly in the areas of regeneration and sustainable development.   Ian was Chief Executive at Thomas Cook for a number of years and held the position of the first Director General of the House of Commons.  He now works as a non-executive director for a number of organisations, mainly in the third sector across health, education and housing.

 

The Group has a Diversity Strategy and associated policies in place which help to ensure that diversity is embedded into our culture.  Diversity in the board is encouraged through our innovative Trainee Board Programme, for which the first cohort of recruits have now graduated and three were appointed Associate Members on our committees.  The next two-year stage of the programme is now underway for the Associate Committee Members, after which it is hoped that there may be an option to join the Group Board. A second cohort of five trainees were recruited during the year as we continue with the programme.

 

Development review

 

Strategy

Our Development Strategy remains focussed on larger sites, with greater control over delivery, quality and sustainability.  We are confident that our development aspirations can be achieved whilst maintaining financial strength, but we continuously review the programme in light of changing external factors. 

 

Home building programme

This year we have continued our customer-focused drive on quality and sustainability. Customer satisfaction for quality remains above 80% at the year-end and we are continuing to see the results of better quality, with a 40% reduction in the number of defects (following completion) reported year-on-year. 

 

A new building specification was implemented in the year for our land led schemes, which will deliver energy enhancements and thermal efficiencies, including a requirement for homes to be gas free wherever possible.  We started developing 264 homes utilising Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in the year, with a further 675 identified to be started in the year to March 2025, all of which will be delivered using Category 2 panelised systems.  MMC forms a key part of our Growth & Development Strategy and we actively look to partner with suppliers who share our commitment to the delivery of sustainable homes.  While we do not currently have plans to deliver a Category 1 Modular (volumetric) project, we continue to seek opportunities to test housebuilding innovations that will enable us to deliver future-proofed communities for our customers. 

 

The development programme has continued to see improvement in market conditions during the year, with consistent easing in build cost inflation.  However, there is a legacy from cost inflation to date, adversely affecting a small number of development partners.  Planning delays remain a challenge, in particular in relation to approvals for highway works on larger sites, which affects the pace of development.  We started on site with 1,534 new homes in the year, the fourth highest number of starts in the sector.  In addition, we completed 1,202 new homes (Mar-23: 1,114).  Of these, 225 (19%) were built for social rent, 408 (34%) for affordable rent, 544 (45%) for shared ownership and 25 (2%) for rent-to-buy.  New homes developed had an average SAP score of 84, which translates to an EPC rating of B.  Development expenditures were £315m in the period (Mar-23: £245m), with increased expenditures supporting both more additions in the current year and an increase in future homes coming into management.  At 31 March 2024, Platform owned a total of 49,182 homes (Mar-23: 48,082).

 

Financial review

 

Turnover

 

In the year to 31 March 2024 total turnover increased by 12.4% to £337.1m (Mar-23: £300m).  Social housing lettings turnover increased by 10.5% to £274.2m (Mar-23: £248.2m), in part due to rent increases of 7% (a below-inflation cap set by the UK Government) and in part due to a year-on-year increase in social housing homes, with 1,114 new homes completed in the year to March 2023 and a further 1,202 homes in the year to March 2024. 

 

 

At or for the year to 31 March		2023	2024
		£m	£m	Change
Social housing lettings		248.2	274.2	10.5%
Shared ownership first tranche sales		33.3	40.7	22.2%
Other social housing activities		1.6	1.7	6.3%
Total social housing turnover		283.1	316.6	11.8%
Non-social housing activities		16.9	20.5	21.3%
Total turnover		300	337.1	12.4%

 

Turnover from shared ownership first tranche sales of £40.7m was up on the prior year (Mar-23: £33.3m) due to both higher numbers of sales, which were 23% up on the prior year, and higher average prices, which were 15% higher than the prior year.  The number of unsold shared ownership homes at the end of the year was 222 (Mar-23: 87).  Unsold homes have increased due to a number of schemes that were completed 'stock plots' acquired from developers, for which there is no pre-completion marketing time.  For homes acquired in this way the average time taken to sell was four months post completion, in comparison to two months where homes were marketed before completion.  The unsold homes are being actively marketed and considered to be a timing rather than a demand issue, with robust levels of reservations persisting.  Of the 222 unsold at March 2024, 138 were reserved for purchase. 

 

Opening unsold at April 2023	87
New completions	544
Sales	(418)
Transfer of units in from other tenures	9
Unsold at March 2024	222
Of which reserved for purchase	138

 

Turnover from all social housing activities of £316.6m (Mar-23: £283.1m) accounted for 94% (Mar-23: 94%) of Platform's total turnover in the period.   

 

Turnover from non-social housing activities was up £3.6m to £20.5m, which was largely due to an increase in external maintenance services provided to partners of our cost sharing vehicle. 

 

Operating costs and costs of sale

 

Total costs increased 23.4% to £269.7m (Mar-23: £218.5m), with a one-off £18m accounting charge for exiting a number of defined benefit pension schemes contributing to the increase.  The charge of £18m is largely balanced against actuarial gains of £15m, which is taken through reserves.  Operating costs (from both social and non-social activities) increased 13.7% to £217.2m (Mar-23: £191.1m) and costs of sales increased 26.3% to £34.6m (Mar-23: £27.4m).

 

At or for the year 31 March		2023	2024
		£m	£m	Change
Social housing lettings operating costs		168.6	186.4	10.6%
Other social housing costs
- shared ownership costs of sale		27.4	34.6	26.3%
- other social housing operating costs		5.7	7.9	38.6%
Total social housing costs		201.7	228.8	13.5%
Pension cessation costs		-	18.0	100%
Other non-social housing operating costs		16.8	22.9	36.3%
Total costs		218.5	269.7	23.4%

 

Social housing lettings operating costs make up the majority of costs and these increased by 10.6% to £190.5m (2022: £168.6m).  The increases in costs were driven by revenue growth of 10.5% as new homes came into management. 

 

Shared ownership cost of sales increased by 26.3%, slightly above related turnover (22.2%), with sales price growth slightly behind associated costs.  Other non-social housing costs relate mainly to maintenance activities carried out for external parties at cost as part of Platform's Cost Sharing Vehicle and have risen due to increased revenues, as activities have been extended for services provided to members of the cost sharing arrangement. 

 

Net Interest costs

 

Net interest payable and financing costs increased by £1.8m to £46m (Mar-23: £44.3m).  This was largely due to lower interest receivable, which was £1.3m lower than the prior year.  Cash balances were lower than the prior year, as surplus cash was used to fund capital expenditures, reducing treasury deposits as a consequence.     

 

Surpluses and margins

 

Maintaining surpluses is a crucial part of our business model.  We reinvest 100% of surpluses into building more homes, improving energy efficiency and enhancing our services. 

 

Operating margins were affected by the one-off pension cessation accounting charge of £18m.  Excluding this, operating margins were 25.4% excluding fixed asset sales (Mar-23: 27.4%) and 26.8% including fixed asset sales (Mar-23: 30.9%).  Margins from core social housing lettings were 32% in line with the prior year (Mar-23: 32.1%). 

 

Shared ownership sales surpluses were £6.1m, representing 8.4% of total operating surplus (Mar-23: £5.9m / 6.4%), with associated margins of 14.9% (Mar-23: 17.7%).  

 

Sales of fixed assets, which include subsequent staircasing sales of shared ownership homes and homes acquired under the 'right to buy' scheme, had surpluses and margins of £5m and 42% (Mar-23: £10.7m / 49%).  Sales in the prior year were supported by the sale of an office, for which surpluses and margins were £1.1m / 48%.  The current year has seen a slowdown of shared ownership staircasing sales, which may be due to the increase in mortgage rates experienced in the UK (and expectations that they may come down again in future), prompting existing owners to 'wait and see' before increasing their level of ownership. However, an equivalent slowdown has not been noted to date in relation to shared ownership first tranche sales.   

 

The overall net surplus after tax, which incorporates interest costs, was £41.4m in comparison to £85m in the prior year.  There were a number of one-off costs and incomes in the current and prior year including pension's cessation accounting entries and actuarial movements, loan breakage credits, one-off maintenance backlog costs and changes to accounting provisions.  When these are adjusted for, surplus after tax of £46.5m is £2.6m lower than the prior year figure of £49.1m, driven largely by lower surpluses of fixed asset sales of £5.8m.   

 

Year ended 31 March		2023	2024
		£m	£m
Surplus after tax		85	41.4
Adjusted for one-off:
Accounting entries for defined benefit pension schemes exit			18.0
Actuarial gain on pension schemes exit		(36.4)	(15.0)
Loan breakage credits		(1.8)
Historical accounting adjustments			2.1
Maintenance backlog costs		2.3
Adjusted surplus		49.1	46.5

 

Year ended 31 March	2023		2024
	Amount	Margin	Amount	Margin
	£m	%	£m	%
Social housing lettings surplus	79.6	32.1	87.8	32
Shared ownership sales surplus	5.9	17.8	6.1	14.9
Overall operating surplus(1)	82.1	27.4	67.4	20.0
Adjusted operating surplus (2)	84.4	28.1	87.5	26.0
Surplus after tax	85.0	28.3	26.4	7.8
Adjusted surplus after tax(2)	49.1	16.4	46.5	13.8

Notes

(1)   Excluding gains on disposal of property, plant and equipment

(2)   Excluding one-off incomes and costs

 

 

The table below shows a reconciliation of Platform's surplus after tax between the year to March 2023 and 2024.

	Income	Expenditure	Surplus
	£m	£m	£m
Surplus after tax - year to March 2023			85.0
Pensions revaluations gains			(36.4)
One-off maintenance costs - backlog			2.3
One-off loan breakage surplus			(1.8)
Surplus after tax before one-off items - year to March 2023			49.1
Social housing lettings turnover	26.0		26.0
Social housing costs:
Repairs and maintenance		(8.6)
Service costs		(5.0)
Rent Losses from Bad Debts		(2.6)
Management costs		(2.0)
Depreciation		(1.9)
			(20.1)
Property sales(1)	7.4	(7.2)	0.2
Other social housing activities	0.2	(2.2)	(2.0)
Non-social housing activities	3.6	(4.0)	(0.4)
Gains on disposal of property, plant and equipment	(10.3)	4.5	(5.8)
Net interest costs	(1.3)	1.1	(0.2)
Capitalised interest		0.2	0.2
Other			(0.6)
Surplus after tax before one-off charges - March 2024			46.5
One-off accounting provisions			(2.1)
One-off pension cessation costs			(18.0)
Gain on pensions revaluations			15.0
Surplus after tax - March 2024			41.4

 Notes

(1)   Property sales consist of shared ownership first tranche sales

 

Treasury review

 

Funding activity

 

Platform established two new revolving credit facilities totalling £275m in January 2024 with National Australia Bank (£175m) and a new lender to Platform, ABN Amro (£100m).  Both facilities are sustainability-linked loans, with performance targets linked to the energy efficiency of new and existing homes and black and minority ethnic representation in our workforce.  The facilities will sit alongside £235m facilities with Lloyds Bank that are also sustainability linked.

 

Shortly after the period end Platform issued a £250m sustainable bond.  The bond has a maturity of 26 years (2050), was issued with a spread of 0.83% and coupon of 5.342%.  The proceeds from the bond will be used in accordance with our Sustainable Finance Framework and allocated to projects that provide new affordable and highly energy efficient homes, and improve the energy efficiency of existing homes.

 

These sustainable financing additions take Platform's sustainable finance to approximately 50% of the debt book.

 

Ratings activity

Platform is rated A+ (stable outlook) by S&P and A+ (stable outlook) by Fitch.  The rating with Fitch was affirmed in October 2023 and the rating with S&P affirmed in January 2024.  Shortly after the period end (April 2024) the outlook for Fitch was revised from negative to stable, in line with a similar movement in the UK Sovereign rating outlook, which had been negative since the 'mini-budget' in the UK in September 2022.

 

Debt and liquidity

Net debt was £1,457m (Mar-23: £1,275m).  Net debt comprised nominal values of £871m in bond issues, £80m in private placements and £550m in term loan and revolving credit facilities, partially offset by cash and equivalents of £31m and non-cash accounting adjustments of £13m.  

 

Platform's weighted average cost of finance was 3.51% (Mar-23: 3.33%). 

 

Platform had liquidity as at 31 March 2024 of £426m (including undrawn committed facilities, short term investments and cash and cash equivalents), which is sufficient to meet all forecast needs until into 2025.  This liquidity horizon was extended further into 2026 following the £250m bond issued in April 2024.

 

Pensions

In the year we successfully delivered the next step of our long-term pensions de-risking strategy and closed Platform's membership of all four Local Government Pension Schemes, transferring a number of colleagues over to our in-house defined contribution pension scheme. The accounting entries of these closures included a £18m cost in operating costs (of which £5m related to cash payments) and has been booked in the year.

 

Financial ratios

Platform monitors its performance against various financial ratios, including value for money metrics reported to the Regulator of Social Housing and ratios it is required to comply with under its financing arrangements.

 

Gearing, measured as the ratio of net debt to the net book value of housing properties, was 45.7% (Mar-23: 43.4%). Gearing has increased slightly in the last year as large cash balances (following bond issuances) have been deployed to fund development, maintenance and sustainability expenditures. Gearing was comfortably within Platform's target of maintaining gearing below 55%.

 

EBITDA-MRI interest cover was 129% (Mar-23: 187%).  The year-on-year movement is largely driven by one-off accounting entries related to the exit from a number of defined benefit pension schemes of £18m.  Adjusting for these, the ratio of 162% was down on the previous year due to an increase in investment into existing homes.  The overall cover remains well above Platform's target minimum (120%).

 

Review of value for money (VfM) performance

Obtaining VfM ensures Platform make the best use of resources and is an essential part of delivering its charitable objectives.  Platform assesses its performance against the Regulator of Social Housing in England's VfM metrics for the year in the context of a group of other comparable social housing providers. This analysis is helpful as these metrics are defined by the regulator and reported across the sector, providing a greater degree of comparability.

 

Peer group information is not available for the period to 31 March 2024, so a comparison against the year to March 2023 has been undertaken.  The 13 peers included in the analysis are set out in the footnotes to the table.

 

 

	Peer Group (FYE 2023)			Platform
RSH VfM metric1/2	Lowest	Average3	Highest	Mar-23	Rank4	Mar-24
Reinvestment	3.0%	7.6%	11.6%	9.4%	3	11.1%
New supply (social housing units)	0.7%	1.8%	3.0%	2.0%	8	2.5%
New supply (non-social housing units)	0.0%	0.2%	0.8%	0.0%	1	0.0%
Gearing	29.3%	46.4%	54.8%	43.4%	5	45.7%
EBITDA-MRI interest cover	46%	129%	237%	187%	2	129%
Headline social housing CPU6	3,436	4,630	7,327	3,436	1	3,998
Operating margin (SHL)6	5.3%	23.9%	35.0%	32.0%	4	32%
Operating margin (total)	5.1%	20.0%	31.0%	27.4%	2	20%
Return on capital employed (ROCE)	1.2%	2.8%	4.2%	3.0%	5	2.2%

 

Notes

(1)   Sample of social housing providers includes Platform, Bromford, Citizen, Guinness, Home Group, Jigsaw, Longhurst, Midland Heart, Optivo, Orbit, Riverside, Sanctuary, Sovereign and Stonewater. We may evolve the make-up of the sample in future.

(2) See: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066373/20220404_Value-for-Money-metrics-Technical-note-guidance_FINAL.pdf

(3)   Unweighted or simple average of performance across the selected group of social housing providers

(4)   Platform ranking is based on performance against peers as reported in the years to March 2023

(5)   A low focus on building non-social housing is viewed as giving a strong ranking due to property market risks related with such activities

(6)   CPU: cost per unit; SHL: social housing lettings

(7)   Calculated figures are based on unrounded numbers 

The Platform Group Board recognises its responsibility for meeting the requirements of the Value for Money (VFM) Standard and in particular, to take a comprehensive approach that achieves continuous improvement in the Group's performance on running costs and the use of assets. 

 

As part of our VFM strategy we have continued to build our procurement function and extend the support it offers to the business.  Our new Source to Pay system is allowing greater capture and analysis of purchasing data and is improving our purchasing knowledge and capabilities.  Together with our category council approach we are creating enhanced opportunities for VFM gains.

 

Costs and performance continue to be benchmarked against relevant external sources making use of tools provided by Housemark, the Housing Quality Network and by referencing data published by the Regulator such as the global accounts and cost per unit reports.  Benchmarks have been selected to compare data with a sample of similar organisations in terms of size and activity.

 

Investing in quality, affordable and sustainable homes is a key component of our Corporate Strategy.  In the year to March 2024 our investment in new and existing homes increased by 25% and 62% respectively.  This is demonstrated above in our levels of reinvestment, 11.1% (Mar-23: 9.4%).  New supply of 2.5% was higher than the prior year (Mar-23: 2%), with investment in starts expected to support higher completions in the coming year.  As a consequence of this investment, gearing increased slightly and we expect further small increases going forwards, however, we remain committed to our golden rule in this area which limits gearing to a maximum of 55%. 

 

Platform continues to perform strongly in a number of the metrics that measure efficiency of operations.  Headline social cost per unit, which shows the efficiency of operations in comparison to the size of the organisation, remains low in comparison to peers albeit has seen an increase in the year due to investment in existing homes, sustainability and the customer experience.  Operating margin overall and ROCE, have been affected by one-off pension accounting entries of £18m but underlying performance remains strong, as evidenced by the margin from social housing lettings.    

 

Outlook

 

Platform remains committed to operating in a prudent manner, maintaining financial strength whilst investing in customer services, existing homes and the development of new housing.    

In the coming year turnover is expected to grow in line with rental increases of 7.7% (set at September 2023 UK consumer price index plus one per cent) and new units coming into management.  Operating costs are expected to be affected by continued investment into the quality and sustainability of our homes.  Margin pressures are expected to persist in the short to medium term, before recovering. 

Our development pipeline for the coming year is expected to continue at pace, with over 1,600 starts projected.  Given the long-term strategic nature of our business we are beginning to work on the longer-term pipeline, securing an interest in sites that will deliver completions into the medium term, with our early involvement and lead role ensuring influence and control over design and quality.

 

There are currently no signs that the unfavourable economic conditions are adversely affecting demand for shared ownership homes.  Higher interest rates and the cost-of-living squeeze may have a detrimental impact on owner occupier housing demand going forwards, however, the shared ownership product (which Platform is principally exposed to) is a sub-set of housing that has its own demand drivers, including buyers migrating from outright sales when affordability is stressed.  We have no outright market sale units in our committed development pipeline. 

 

A Retrofit Strategy is expected to be completed in the coming year which will add additional granularity to our objectives to bring all homes to EPC C and above by 2030 and to net zero by 2050.  On top of this we are targeting gas free developments for all new land-led schemes brought forward in the year.

Our IT activity will include further systems improvements by consolidating our two legacy housing management systems (Open Housing), which will significantly improve services to our customers.  In addition, we are targeting significant improvements across service charges, assets and customer data to enable a more tailored service provision in line with new consumer regulation.

 

In the longer term our resilient financial and operational model leaves us well placed to continue delivering our strategic objectives, centred on the provision and maintenance of high quality, affordable and sustainable housing, alleviating the Midlands housing shortage and providing enhanced life prospects for more local people.

 

Financial Statements

 

Legal Status

Platform Housing Group (the parent company) is incorporated in England under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and is registered with the RSH as a Private Registered Provider of Social Housing. The registered office is 1700 Solihull Parkway, Birmingham Business Park, Solihull, B37 7YD. 

Platform Housing Group comprises the following entities:

Name	Incorporation	Registration
Platform Housing Group Limited	Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014	Registered
Platform Housing Limited	Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014	Registered
Platform Property Care Limited	Companies Act 2006	Non-registered
Platform New Homes Limited	Companies Act 2006	Non-registered
Platform HG Financing PLC	Companies Act 2006	Non-registered
Waterloo Homes Limited (Dormant)	Companies Act 2006	Non-registered

 

Basis of Accounting

The Group's financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable United Kingdom Accounting Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (UK GAAP), the Statement of Recommended Practice for registered housing providers: Housing SORP 2018 Update and Financial Reporting Standard 102 ('FRS 102').  Platform Housing Group is a Public Benefit Entity under the requirements of FRS 102.  The Group is required under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies (Group Accounts) Regulations 1969 to prepare consolidated Group accounts.

 

The financial statements comply with the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies (Group Accounts) Regulations 1969, the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 and the Accounting Direction for Private Registered Providers of Social Housing 2022.  Following the implementation of FRS 102, housing properties are stated at deemed   cost at the date of transition and additions are recorded at cost.  Investment properties are recorded at valuation.  The accounts are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest £1,000.

 

As a Public Benefit Entity, The Group has applied the 'PBE' prefixed paragraphs of FRS102.

 

 

Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended 31 March 2024

 

		2024	2023
	Note	£000	£000
Turnover	1&2	337,062	299,987
Operating Expenditure	1&2	(217,091)	(191,101)
Cost of Sales	1&2	(34,599)	(27,379)
Pension Cessation Costs		(18,039)	-
Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment		4,965	10,749
Increase in valuation of investment properties		108	580
Operating Surplus		72,406	92,836
Interest receivable	4	2,663	3,974
Interest payable and financing costs	4	(48,693)	(48,231)
Surplus before tax		26,376	48,579
Taxation		-	-
Surplus for the year after tax		26,376	48,579
Actuarial gain in respect of pension schemes		14,995	36,424
Total comprehensive income for the year		41,371	85,003

 

The Group's results all relate to continuing activities.

 

 

 

Statement of Financial Position at 31 March 2024

 

		2024	2023
	Note	£000	£000
Fixed assets
Housing properties	5	3,191,280	2,936,771
Other tangible fixed assets		21,257	12,998
Intangible fixed assets		13,330	7,734
Investment properties		17,333	17,225
Homebuy loans receivable		7,271	7,434
Fixed asset investments		19,431	20,364
Investment in subsidiaries
		3,269,902	3,002,526
Current assets
Stocks: Housing properties for sale		50,088	32,611
Stocks: Other		241	592
Trade and other Debtors		26,756	19,486
Cash and cash equivalents		30,816	118,056
		107,901	170,745
Less: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		(141,553)	(140,837)
Net current (liabilities)/assets		(33,652)	29,908
Total assets less current liabilities		3,236,250	3,032,434
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year		(2,078,473)	(1,913,710)
Provisions for liabilities
Pension provision		(10,037)	(12,394)
Total net assets		1,147,740	1,106,330
Reserves
Non-equity share capital
Income and expenditure reserve		931,507	890,025
Revaluation reserve		216,233	216,305
Total reserves		1,147,740	1,106,330

 

 

 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Reserves

 

	Income and Expenditure Reserve	Property Revaluation Reserve	Investment Revaluation Reserve	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000
Balance at 1 April 2022	804,486	216,783	(137)	1,021,132
Surplus for the year	48,579	-	-	48,579
Actuarial gain on pension scheme	36,424	-	-	36,424
Valuation in the year	-		195	195
Transfer between reserves	536	(536)	-	-
Balance at 31 March 2023	890,025	216,247	58	1,106,330
Surplus for the year	26,376	-	-	26,376
Actuarial gain on pension scheme	14,995			14,995
Valuation in the year			39	39
Transfer between reserves	111	(115)	4	-
Balance at 31 March 2024	931,507	216,132	101	1,147,740

 

 

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 March 2024

 

	2024		2023
	£000		£000
Net cash generated from operating activities (see note i below)	108,124		132,875
Cash flow from investing activities
Purchase of tangible and intangible fixed assets	(314,782)		(250,239)
Proceeds from sales of tangible fixed assets	12,916		22,186
Grants received	59,720		31,366
Interest received	3,142		3,096
Homebuy and Festival Property Purchase loans repaid	163		316
Investments	-		(3,064)
Cash flow from financing activities
Interest paid	(50,696)		(50,214)
New secured loans	115,000		-
Repayment of borrowings	(20,827)		(46,212)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents	43,477		(159,890)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year	118,056		277,946
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year	30,816		118,056
Note i
Surplus for the year	26,378		48,579
Adjustments for non-cash items
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets	43,048		41,785
Amortisation of grants	(5,398)		(5,082)
Movement in properties and other assets in the course of sale	(17,477)		(6,070)
(Increase)/decrease in stock	351		(428)
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other debtors	(3,724)		(3,462)
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other creditors	23,520		26,856
Movement in investments	717		27
Increase/(Decrease) in provisions	-		-
Adjustments for investing or financing activities
Proceeds from sale of tangible fixed assets	(5,251)		(11,340)
Interest payable	48,693		46,888
Interest receivable	(2,663)		(3,957)
Movement in fair value of financial instruments	38		(341)
Increase in valuation of investment property	(108)		(580)
Net cash generated from operating activities	108,124		132,875

 

1.  Turnover, Cost of Sales, Operating Expenditure and Operating Surplus

 

Group	Year ended 31 March 2024
	Turnover	Cost of Sales	Operating Expenditure	Operating Surplus / (Deficit)
	£000	£000	£000	£000
Social housing lettings	274,184	-	(186,340)	87,844
Other social housing activities
Development services	25	-	(5,778)	(5,753)
Management services	151	-	(1,066)	(915)
Support services	393	-	(603)	(210)
Sale of Shared Ownership first tranche	40,654	(34,599)	-	6,055
Other	1,220	-	(460)	760
	42,443	(34,599)	(7,907)	(63)
Activities other than social housing
Developments for sale	10		(2)	8
Student accommodation	-	-	-	-
Market rents	851	-	(540)	311
Other	19,574	-	(22,302)	(2,728)
Pension Cessation Costs	-	-	(18,039)	(18,039)
	20,435	-	(40,077)	(19,461)
Total	337,062	(34,599)	(235,130)	67,333

 

 

1.  Turnover, Cost of Sales, Operating Expenditure and Operating Surplus (continued)

 

Group	Year ended 31 March 2023
	Turnover	Cost of Sales	Operating Expenditure	Operating Surplus / (Deficit)
	£000	£000	£000	£000
Social housing lettings (see note 2)	248,181	-	(168,608)	79,573
Other social housing activities
Development services	-	-	(4,339)	(4,339)
Management services	125	-	(658)	(533)
Support services	357	-	(550)	(193)
Sale of Shared Ownership first tranche	33,312	(27,379)	-	5,933
Other	1,135	-	(198)	937
	34,929	(27,379)	(5,745)	1,805
Activities other than social housing
Developments for sale	-	-	-	-
Student accommodation	9	-	(2)	7
Market rents	1,172	-	(1,096)	76
Other	15,696	-	(15,650)	46
	16,877	-	(16,748)	129
Total	299,987	(27,379)	(191,101)	81,507

 

 

 

2.  Turnover and Operating Expenditure for Social Housing Lettings

 

	Year ended 31 March 2024
	General Needs Housing	Affordable Rent	Supported Housing & Housing for older people	Low Cost Home Ownership	Intermediate rent	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Income
Rent receivable net of identifiable service charges	153,489	51,146	15,374	23,318	3,645	246,972
Service charge income	7,358	1,897	7,876	3,451	15	20,597
Other grants	1,115	55	26	21	-	1,217
Amortised government grants	2,713	1,619	161	875	30	5,398
Other income
Turnover from social housing lettings	164,675	54,717	23,437	27,666	3,689	274,184
Management	(16,874)	(5,395)	(3,917)	(5,643)	(356)	(32,185)
Service charge costs	(14,898)	(3,345)	(10,103)	(3,766)	(379)	(32,491)
Routine maintenance	(40,332)	(9,661)	(4,742)	(197)	(518)	(55,450)
Planned maintenance	(7,028)	(1,956)	(625)	(62)	(57)	(9,728)
Major repairs expenditure	(5,893)	(3,824)	(2,452)	(552)	(67)	(12,788)
Bad debts	(1,445)	(417)	(307)	(197)	3	(2,363)
Depreciation of housing properties	(23,715)	(10,752)	(2,466)	(3,900)	(502)	(41,335)
Operating expenditure on social housing lettings	(110,185)	(35,350)	(24,612)	(14,317)	(1,876)	(186,340)
Operating surplus on social housing lettings	54,490	19,367	(1,175)	13,349	1,813	87,844
Void losses	(2,417)	(783)	(988)	(985)	(123)	(5,296)

 

2.  Turnover and Operating Expenditure for Social Housing Lettings (continued)

			Year ended 31 March 2023
Group	General Needs Housing	Affordable Rent	Supported Housing & Housing for older people	Low Cost Home Ownership	Intermediate rent	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Income
Rent receivable net of identifiable service charges	142,576	45,239	14,302	20,372	2,847	225,336
Service charge income	6,048	1,572	6,371	3,036	3	17,030
Other grants	432	137	-	-	-	569
Amortised government grants	2,637	1,468	115	831	30	5,081
Other income	26	85	-	54	-	165
Turnover from social housing lettings	151,719	48,501	20,788	24,293	2,880	248,181
Operating Expenditure
Management	(17,581)	(5,589)	(3,653)	(3,051)	(322)	(30,196)
Service charge costs	(11,485)	(2,720)	(9,533)	(3,391)	(344)	(27,473)
Routine maintenance	(38,657)	(8,185)	(4,727)	(173)	(436)	(52,178)
Planned maintenance	(5,574)	(1,357)	(462)	(41)	(59)	(7,493)
Major repairs expenditure	(7,323)	(1,306)	(2,823)	(450)	(107)	(12,009)
Bad debts	451	(59)	(27)	(98)	(43)	224
Depreciation of housing properties	(23,367)	(9,932)	(2,410)	(3,417)	(357)	(39,483)
Operating expenditure on social housing lettings	(103,536)	(29,148)	(23,635)	(10,621)	(1,668)	(168,608)
Operating surplus on social housing lettings	48,183	19,353	(2,847)	13,672	1,212	79,573
Void losses	(1,556)	(705)	(514)	(225)	(118)	(3,118)

 

 

3.   Units

Social housing properties in management at end of period

	2024					2023
	Owned and managed	Managed not owned	Total managed	Owned not managed	Total Owned	Total Managed	Total Owned
	Number	Number	Number	Number	Number	Number	Number
General Needs	28,747	11	28,758	8	28,755	28,587	28,584
Affordable rent	8,248	-	8,248	-	8,248	7,843	7,843
Supported	553	-	553	65	618	268	333
Housing for older people	2,706	-	2,706	-	2,706	2,976	2.976
Intermediate rent	482	-	482	-	482	466	466
Total	40,736	11	40,747	73	40,809	40,140	40,202
*Shared Ownership <100%	6,668	6	6,694	-	6,688	6,205	6,199
Social Leased @100% sold	1,149	-	1,149	-	1,149	1,145	1,145
Total social	48,573	17	48,590	73	48,646	47,490	47,546
Non-social housing
Non-social rented	111	-	111	-	111	111	111
Non-social leased	396	-	396	29	425	396	425
Total stock	49,080	17	49,097	102	49,182	47,997	48,082

 

¹The equity proportion of a shared ownership property is counted as one unit.

 

 

4.   Net Interest

Interest receivable and similar income	2024				2023
	£000				£000
On financial assets measured at amortised cost:
Interest receivable	2,663				3,974
	2,663				3,974
Interest payable and financing costs
On financial liabilities measured at amortised cost:
Loans repayable		49,085			47,280
Loan breakage costs		-			(1,772)
Costs associated with financing		3,742			5,508
		52,827			51,016
On defined benefit pension scheme:
Expected return on plan assets		(6,153)			(5,509)
Interest on scheme liabilities		6,315			6,835
		162			1,326
On financial liabilities measured at fair value:
Interest capitalised on housing properties		(4,296)			(4,111)
		48,693			48,231

 

 

 

5.   Tangible Fixed Assets - Housing Properties

 

	Housing Properties held for letting	Housing Properties in the course of construction	Completed Shared Ownership Properties	Shared Ownership Properties in the course of construction	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Cost
At 1 April 2023	2,567,881	179,870	539,195	23,568	3,310,514
Additions	177	174,000	357	134,392	308,926
Works to existing properties	39,394	-	-	-	39,394
Disposals	(7,188)	-	(4,502)	-	(11,690)
Fair value disposal	(254)	-	-	-	(254)
Transfer (to)/from current assets	-	-	(6,365)	(44,753)	(51,118)
Interest capitalised	-	2,408	-	1,888	4,296
Schemes completed	111,375	(111,375)	74,616	(74,616)	-
At 31 March 2024	2,711,385	244,903	603,301	40,479	3,600,068
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023	348,920	-	24,823	-	373,743
Charge for the year	36,056	-	3,754	-	39,810
Disposals	(4,342)	-	(423)	-	(4,765)
At 31 March 2024	380,634	-	28,154	-	408,788
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2024	2,330,751	244,903	575,147	40,479	3,191,280
At 31 March 2023	2,218,961	179,870	514,372	23,568	2,936,771

 

 

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