Paradigm increases development by 49%

Paradigm Housing Group has increased its completions by nearly 50% year-on-year.

The 16,000-home housing association, in a trading update today, said it has completed 354 homes in the nine months to 31 December, compared to 237 in the same period last year.

The association said it expects to deliver more than 500 homes by the end of the financial year, which would be an increase on the 446 completed in 2023/23.

The increases comes despite Paradigm in the summer reducing its build target for 2021-26 from 2,250 to 1,950 homes due to the “challenging economic environment”.

Paradigm increased its turnover by 17.5% from £92.4m to £109.9m, while its surplus rose 5.1%.

The group’s rental and other income increased by 8.8% as a result of the 7% permitted rent increase, while its income from first tranche home ownership sales nearly doubled from £12.5m to £23m. These increases were offset by higher interest costs.

Paradigm spent £31.4m on improving existing stock, up from £16.9m last year. Its overall operating margin rose from 40.5% to 40.7%

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Nicola Ewen, chief financial officer at Paradigm, said: “We have delivered a strong performance against a challenging economic background. Our rental income remains stable, and our operating margin remains strong enabling us to continue to deliver against our corporate plan objectives.

“Our financial strength is a key driver in enabling us to continue to build new homes and invest in existing homes. We expect to deliver over 500 new homes by the end of the year and spend over £40m investing in and maintaining our homes.

“We continue to provide support and help to our residents in these challenging economic times through both our customer support team and our hardship fund.”