Great Places increases pre-tax surplus in first quarter

Great Places Housing Group has reported a pre-tax surplus of £7m in the first quarter of the financial year, in line with its expectations.

The 25,000-home landlord said the figure, which is up on the £6.8m posted in the same period last year, is consistent with its budgeted surplus.

Great Places reported that its drawn debt, excluding bond and loan premiums as well as loan fees, was £652m, increasing by £19m in the quarter due to £20m in revolving credit facility loan drawdowns and a small scheduled debt repayment.

In its unaudited quarterly performance update for the period ending 30 June 2024, Great Places reported £30m of cash held and undrawn revolving credit facilities of £405m.

The housing association, which owns and manages homes across the North West, Yorkshire and Derbyshire, added that it achieved all its “internal financial ’golden rules’ around interest cover, gearing and operating margin.”

>> See also: Great Places secures £284m in debt funding for investment in homes

>> See also: Great Places misses annual development target by nearly 300 homes

Great Places’ earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) interest cover stood above its target of 120%, at 171%, as of 30 June this year.

The financial update indicated that Great Places has made 113 starts on site in quarter one, which it says puts it on track to meet its full-year development target.

Great Places’ 2024-2027 corporate plan includes an ambition to build 4,000 new homes, including a greater number of high-density homes to meet local housing needs. The housing association also confirmed it is still intending to hit a target of 9,000 new homes by 2030. In April it said it had completed 2,134 homes and is on site with around 2,000 more as part of this target.

The housing association’s performance update revealed that it currently has 3,164 properties below EPC C rating. It aims to reduce this number to 2,500 by the end of the year.

On stock condition surveys, Great Places says 79% of its properties have an up-to-date survey and is on track for a year-end target of 85%.

In addition, Great Places will launch an external programme involving around 2,000 surveys this year.

>>See also: Great Places promotes Alison Dean to chief executive role

>>See also: Great Places misses annual development target by nearly 300 homes

Great Places has a mark-to-market exposure of £3.9m, indicating the amount it would need to pay if these financial contracts were settled under current market conditions.

However, the housing provider stated that it has not posted any cash collateral to satisfy the security requirements of its counterparties.

Great Places has also secured £6.4m in funding from the Greater Manchester Brownfield Fund and is set to build 423 homes across eight sites supported by this grant money.

In April, Great Places announced that it had secured £284m in debt finance which will be used to build new homes and improve existing stock.