Our annual report and financial statements for 2023-24 are a record of how we've performed and what we've achieved as an organisation in the past financial year.
The 2023-24 financial year marked the final chapter of our Better Futures 2021-24 strategy. Across teams, we have worked hard to ensure we delivered and, at times, exceeded our corporate targets.
Despite a period of economic volatility and uncertainty across the sector, we have maintained a healthy financial position, with a surplus of £9.1m, as well as our G1/V1 regulatory ratings. Throughout the past three years, we have consistently invested at more than sector upper-quartile levels in our homes and have provided 430 new affordable homes for our customers.
In 2023-24, we were pleased to have received a Homes England grant of £3.1m as well as a further £1m in funding from the Borough of Broxbourne Council. Alongside this, we had the opportunity to purchase nine homes in East Hertfordshire for Afghan and Ukrainian refugee families thanks to the Local Authority Housing Fund.
Preserving our financial resilience and adapting to a changing economic environment has allowed us to continue to provide quality homes while delivering value for money for both our customers and our business. Our performance reflects our ongoing efforts to contribute to sustainable, positive change in the communities we operate in.
Read the full year's accounts on the link below.
When the Board approved the three-year Better Futures Strategy in 2021, we made customer satisfaction a key priority for the business, and we set a sector upper-quartile target.
Now we have come to the end of this strategy period, it is very pleasing to see that our performance of 85% customer satisfaction is near the sector’s upper decile.
Key insights from our report:
- Cutting carbon: We closed the year having achieved a SHIFT Gold award, one of our most ambitious targets.
- Providing safe, good quality homes and estates: We invested £14.5m into improving our homes, including a dedicated £5.5m towards upgrading kitchens, bathrooms, electrics, roofs, and more.
- Building locally: We delivered 30 affordable rent and 15 shared ownership homes which generated an income £9.3m for the year.
- Delivering excellent customer experiences: In our efforts to engage our customers more through our Customer Community, Operations Committee, and more, we have sustained a satisfaction rate of 84%-85%.
- Giving support when life changes: In partnership with the Hertfordshire Money Advice Unit, more than £350k were raised to provide financial assistance for 130 of our customers. Sector-leading rent arrear levels of 0.62% and low levels of evictions showcase our success in supporting our customers with their tenancies.
- Creating a great, inclusive place to work: We are pleased to report a decrease in mean gender pay gap from 5.36% (2021) to 3.26% (2023) as well as a brand new ‘Learning to Lead’ programme for up-and-coming managers.
- Being a responsible business: Our regulator reconfirmed B3Living's G1 / V1 ratings, the highest possible scores for viability and governance.
