Platform Housing Group has reported a strong start to the year, although the rate of new-build homes has fallen with the focus shifting to improving social rented properties.
Turnover at the company grew by 14.8 per cent to £92.3m in the three months to June 2024, up from £80.4m in June 2023, with 95 per cent of revenues coming from core social housing activities.
Turnover on shared ownership sales rose £6.4m to £13m, up from £6.6m last June.
Operating profit grew 16.8 per cent to £24.3m, up from £20.8m last year, while investment in existing homes rose by over 147 per cent.
It appeared to be a shift in strategy from constructing new homes, with the number of new homes completed in 2024 down by 15.6 per cent, to 244.
Tenant arrears were stable year on year, at three per cent.
Elizabeth Froude, Platform’s chief executive, said: “It is early in the year and as we publish these results, we walk into a new Government with housing as a key priority.
I am pleased to say that our results remain broadly consistent, with margins and surpluses both showing year on year positive trends, whilst our strategy of investing in both existing and new homes continues.”
We continue to keep a tight control on overheads, but also continue to invest in core technology to widen our customers choice of service channel and to give our staff improved tools to do their jobs whilst in the communities we serve.”
The new government agenda on delivering more social rented homes is very much in alignment with that of Platform, as we have always built this tenure, having completed 3,000 new social rented homes in the last 10 years, and we look forward to working with Government on enabling more to be built.”
Platform is the largest housing association in the Midlands and one of the biggest in the country overall, owning over 49,000 homes as of March last year.
It was issued a £250m sustainable bond in April 2024.