A year of change which saw us successfully bring three housing associations together has resulted in record turnover and post-tax surplus figures.

Our Annual Report and Financial Statements 2018-19 was published today reflecting a year which saw Bromford, Merlin and Severn Vale combine into one larger, stronger organisation. By year end turnover had increased to £257m (2018: £221m), surplus after tax increased to £69m (2018: £64m), although operating margin fell to 33% (2018: 40%).

During the year we increased our income from the sale of shared ownership homes from £26m last year to £48m, with an additional £6m from the outright sale of homes. We’re investing the receipts from these sales into building more new homes. During the year we completed 1,236 new homes at multiple sites across the Midlands and south west as we began working towards our goal of building 14,000 new homes by 2028. This ambition was boosted when we were appointed as one of Homes England’s strategic partners and awarded £66m to help fund our future new homes programme.

We’ve also continued to invest in our existing homes. We spent £38m in major repair and refurbishment programmes and £36m on routine repairs to our existing homes. Going forward we will continue to invest in our homes to ensure more than 99% of them have an energy efficiency rating of D or better.

Our strong performance during the year was further demonstrated by new tenant arrears of 2.99%  well below our target of 4.5% and by maintaining our performance of 89% of customers who would recommend us to a friend.

Executive Director of Finance Lee Gibson explained that during the year the organisation has also laid the groundwork for future success.

“We launched the Bromford Strategy 2019-2023 in March 2019 and not only have we been explicit on our purpose, but we’ve been clear on what our core business is and what it isn’t. We have established a series of clear measurable goals.

He concluded: “The demand for affordable housing has never been more profound and this, coupled with our size, strength of balance sheet and opportunities, results in Bromford being an important organisation in the area in which we operate which, with our increasing focus on partnerships, provides an exciting footing for the future.”

Read our full Annual Accounts and Financial Statements 2018-19.