Midlands landlord appoints new finance boss

Since his departure, former Ongo chief executive Andy Orrey has been filling in as interim finance director.

In a 30-year career, Mr van Enk-Bones had his longest stint, nearly 11 years, at Peaks and Plains Housing Trust. He also had interim roles at Connexus and Karbon Homes, before a three-year spell at Your Homes Newcastle.  

Julie Guildford Smith, Honeycomb’s chief executive, said Mr van Enk-Bones’ “extensive housing finance experience and strategic foresight will undoubtedly contribute to our increased financial resilience and future growth ambitions”.

Ms Guildford Smith, a former Birmingham City Council director, has been in the job for just over a year, after replacing the long-serving Diane Thompson.

Honeycomb, which operates across Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire, was downgraded to V2 for viability in January, after the English regulator said its increasing investment in its homes reduced its “capacity to respond to adverse events”.

It was given a G2 rating in 2021 after it was found not to have an up-to-date record of its assets and liabilities or an asset management system which “ensures comprehensive stock-condition information”. Both G2 and V2 are compliant grades.

In its last full year, Honeycomb reported a post-tax surplus of £89,000 on turnover of £26.8m. The year before, it recored a post-tax deficit of £269,000.

The Honeycomb Group has four arms: housing association Staffs Housing, homeless charity Concrete, domestic-abuse charity Glow, and repairs and support specialist Revival.