Abri retains Moody’s A3 rating ahead of Octavia Housing merger

Alongside its rating, Moody’s noted Abri’s experience in successful mergers with other organisations such as Silva Homes, which completed in October 2023.

Abri said the Moody’s rating reflected its “strong financial position” and capacity to support Octavia in “completing its recovery”.

Gary Orr, group chief executive of Abri, said: “Moody’s A3 stable rating for the combined group, including Octavia, demonstrates Abri’s ongoing financial strength and financial resilience.

“These ratings show that Abri is well-placed to complete the successful delivery of its current five-year strategy in 2025 and to replace this with a new, long-term strategy aligned to its external operating environment and the government’s proposed national housing strategy.”

Last month, Abri retained its G1 and V1 grades for governance and financial viability from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

Octavia currently has non-compliant G3, V3 and C3 grades for governance, financial viability and consumer standards from the RSH.

Abri’s most recent accounts showed that it spent £100m on improving its existing homes in its last financial year, including £18m on existing stock taken on from Silva Homes.

The landlord’s operating costs increased by £21m to £193m, partly due to extra staff costs from taking on Silva Homes employees, while the cost of repairs and maintenance rose by £9m.

In June, Abri said it was still on course to meet its 2030 development target, despite completions falling by 11.5% year on year.