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L&Q sets aside £50m for fire safety works
Giant London housing association L&Q has set aside £50m over three years to pay for fire safety works in its tower blocks.
The 97,000-home landlord issued a trading update this morning which revealed that six of its buildings use the cladding system which failed in-depth fire safety tests last week.
L&Q will replace the cladding and insulation combinations on each of the buildings, which are in Brent, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harlow, Redbridge and Southwark, and is in the process of finding alternatives.
It said it “will meet all costs associated with the replacements of the cladding” and that residents will not be moved out while the work is being carried out.
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All the affected buildings have up-to-date fire risk assessments and have passed building regulations, the landlord maintains.
Waqar Ahmed, group finance director at L&Q, said: “We have made this work an immediate priority and have or will set aside the necessary staffing and budgetary resources to deliver solutions quickly.
“We have initially set £50m aside in our financial plan, phased over the next three financial years, to cover this work. In the meantime enhanced resident communication and safety measures will remain in place.”
Round-the-clock fire safety wardens have been stationed in eight L&Q buildings which have aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding. Two of the blocks use cladding which is still undergoing tests.
None of the six buildings clad with the system that failed last week’s tests are used as collateral against L&Q’s borrowings.
And Inside Housing understands that the £500m bond issued by the association last month did not include any of its tower blocks – though this decision was made before the Grenfell fire.
The guidance range for L&Q’s expected surplus for 2017/18 is £300m-£330m, which it says considers the potential impact of responding to the disaster.
L&Q’s turnover for the three months up to 30 June was £271m, compared to £131m in the same quarter last year.
