Square Roots makes loss of more than £800k in second successive reporting period

Square Roots has reported a loss of £834,000 for the nine months to 31 December, its accounts show.

This follows an £808,000 loss in its previous reporting period, the 12 months to 31 March 2003. Barbara Richardson, managing director of Square Roots, said the losses were “in line with anticipated results for a start-up organisation”

The provider, which delivers homes for affordable rent and shared ownership and is backed by institutional investment, had 52 homes occupied by 31 December 2023.

This meant Square Roots, which is owned by property company London Square, generated revenue for the first time, totalling £80,000.

It however says it will have 437 homes under management by the end of 2024 and has around 1,800 homes under construction or in its committed pipeline.

The company’s accounts were prepared on a going concern basis with London Square pledging “unconditional support” for the business along with a £5m interest-free loan.

The company, which is a for-profit provider of social housing, is aiming to have 3,500 homes under ownership or management by the end of 2029.

The provider, has been allocated £50.3m from the Greater London Authority to deliver 1,015 homes through the Affordable Homes Programme.

It received £22.5m from this funding by the end of 31 December for the first five sites.

These five sites will deliver 963 homes and construction on these schemes is under way. They are Axion House in Lewisham, the Hyde in Colindale, Hawks Road in Kingston, Electrobase in Crayford and Lea Bridge in Waltham Forest.

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A total of 52 of these homes were completed by 31 December last year, 385 by 31 December this year and the remaining 578 between 2025 and 2028.

In addition to the 963 under construction, the group has a committed pipeline of a further 839 homes.

The group’s total operating expenditure was 31 per cent lower than budget for the nine-month period to 31December 2023.

Square Roots’ reporting period has been changed to align with London Square and its parent company, Aldar.

Barbara Richardson, managing director of Square Roots, said: “We focus on the strong relationships we are nurturing with local authorities in Greater London and with our investors to deliver the homes that are desperately needed throughout the capital.”