Trading update also shows near doubling of net surplus following increased income from stock disposals
Clarion has increased its completions by more than 30% in the first half of the year.
The housing association giant, in a trading update said it completed 792 homes in the six months to 30 September, up on the 606 for the same period the previous year.
The group has set a target of building 1,828 homes in 2024/25 as a whole, which if achieved would represent a 19% annual increase on last year’s figure of 1,538.
Clarion however spent less on new homes, investing £196m in development compared to £234m the year before. It said this was due to some later starts on site.
Clarion’s spend on existing homes dropped from £205m to £177m over the same period. This includes a £15m fall in capital spending on improving homes. Clarion said this reflects timing differences in the phasing of the work, with increased expenditure expected in the second half of the year.
Jock Lennox, group chair at Clarion, said: “Cognisant of our exposure to a challenging market and volatile supply chain costs, we have been taking a cautious approach to development, but these numbers represent a strong level of delivery and are improved on the same period last year.”
Lennox said the £500m top up to the Affordable Homes Programme announced in the Autumn Budget “will have a positive impact on the supply of new homes” and said Clarion will be requesting to the government’s rent settlement consultation with a request for a 10-year deal.
Lennox added there are “significant challenges” ahead and it is working through the implications of the National Insurance employer contributions rise and the implementation of Awaab’s Law, which will require landlords to tackle hazards in fixed timescales.
The half year figures also show Clarion increased its turnover from £486m to £542m and nearly doubled its net surplus from £35m to £68m.
The 125,000-home provider said this was due to higher rental income and increased income from stock disposals.
>>See also: Why we are transforming Clarion
The group made 301 more sales in the first half of the year than the same period last year, generating £19m of surplus, compared to £13m.
Clarion in September sold 703 homes in Essex and Suffolk to Eastlight Community Homes, a resident-led housing association based in the East of England.
The move is part of Clarion’s ongoing stock rationalisation plan, which has seen it sell nearly 3,000 properties to other providers since April 2022.
Last year it said it is seeking to divest itself of properties that it hasn’t been “able to manage in the most efficient and effective manner” It transferred 1,117 homes to other providers in 2023/24 and 1,162 units in 2022/23.
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