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Your Housing Group still feeling effects of ‘catastrophic’ 2019 fire as it reports £13.4m loss
North West landlord Your Housing Group (YHG) has posted a loss of £13.4m as it continues to feel the financial impact of a fire at a retirement village in 2019.
In its annual accounts for 2023-24, YHG reported costs of £16.4m relating to the “catastrophic” fire at the Beechmere facility in Crewe, which saw 150 people lose their homes.
The costs stem partly from leaseholder buybacks of £5.3m for properties that are yet to be rebuilt.
YHG and Avantage, a subsidiary of YHG and operator of the homes, were given court summons for fire safety offences by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Legal action is ongoing, with a court hearing expected in May 2025.
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If either YHG or Avantage is found guilty, potential fines could be between £1m and £2m, but YHG said it had not set aside funds as fines were not considered likely.
The housing association said it “continued to see significant time and attention being diverted” to resolving problems related to Avantage.
It said that all parties are involved in “constructive discussions regarding a rescue” and that it is “cautiously hopeful” the issue will be resolved this year.
YHG said that its deficit was also driven by increasing repairs and maintenance costs, higher sub-contractor fees and extra costs for managing voids back into use. It saw void levels that were 172% higher than expected at the start of the year.
The landlord spent £9.9m on fire safety during the year, alongside £34m on improvements.
Keeping assistance guards at extra-care schemes where customers would be unable to evacuate on their own in a fire has also generated “excessive costs”, YHG said.
Interest costs increased by £11.6m due to loan break costs and drawdowns, including one early prepayment of a debt facility with a “historically high rate”.
Yet its operating surplus, excluding fixed asset sales and movements in fair value, was significantly higher year on year, rising from a deficit of £10.4m to a much improved £14.5m.
Turnover was also up £18.2m to £199.3m, driven by increased development sales and the rent increase.
YHG renegotiated its delivery pledge with Homes England over the course of 2023-24 to reduce its output by 15%.
The housing association invested £69.9m in delivering 460 homes during 2023-24 and started 325 homes on site.
It also raised £300,000 of extra surplus by selling or transferring stock.
In February, the 29,000-home landlord said it had reimbursed tenants after it was found to have breached the Rent Standard in June 2022 for overcharging residents.
YHG currently has a G2/V2 rating with the English regulator.
In 2020, YHG was downgraded by the Regulator of Social Housing to a G2 rating “due to a lack of clarity about its strategy”. Its financial viability rating then also fell to V2 as it “substantially increased” its forecast asset management spending.
Jacque Allen, chief executive of YHG, spoke to Inside Housing earlier this year about her plans for cultivating leadership in the sector.
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