Acquisitions help boost Aster turnover

Aster Group has increased its turnover by 25%, boosted by extra rental income following recent acquisitions.

The 36,000-home association, in its annual financial statement for 2022/23, reported turnover of £301m, up from £241m the previous year.

The group, which operates across the south of England, increased its social housing income by £38m to £226m, due to a 4.1% inflation-linked rent increase and the addition of new homes. It said its income was also boosted by extra rental income from the acquisition of Central & Cecil Housing Trust last year and care provider Enham Trust in October. Its shared ownership first tranche income rose from £45m to £60m.

Aster’s surplus however fell from £171m in 2021/22, a figure inflated by a £119m one-off gain from the Central & Cecil acquisition, to £55m in 2022/23. Its operating surplus excluding such one-off gains, also dropped from £76m to £66m. This was due in part to social housing costs increasing by £44.5m including an extra £11.1m of expenditure on services and £14.4m more spent on repair and maintenance.

Aster’s accounts also confirmed its previous announcement that it has exceeded its 1,300 development target for the year.

The association delivered 1,312 homes in total, including 1,295 for affordable tenures and 131 for open market sale.

It said it expects to build 1,170 homes in 2023/24 as part of its £2.3bn plan to build 10,000 homes over the next seven years.

Bjorn Howard, group chief executive at Aster, said: “This was a transformative year for Aster, as we built more homes than at any other point in our history and diversified our business thanks to the successful integration of care specialist Central & Cecil into the Group, as well as Enham Trust.

“As a result, we have now expanded further into London, providing good-quality homes and care services for our customers. While developing as many new affordable homes each year remains a key priority, we’re focused on improving our existing portfolio, underlined by the significant amount invested in repairs and maintenance.