We manage our finances carefully at Futures. After all we have more than 10,700 homes to keep in good condition and over 450 employees on the payroll.
We’re happy to say that we’re still in great financial health so we can continue investing more in our customers’ homes and building more new properties to help with the ongoing national shortage of affordable homes.
Our operating surplus increased this year for the first time since 2022. The last few years we expected it to fall due to the higher cost of living and increased expenditure on building homes, but now our operating surplus has increased to £21.4m which is £5.8m higher than in 2023-24.
Our S&P credit rating did change to A from A+ last year, but this wasn’t unexpected and we don’t think it’s cause for concern. The rising costs of maintaining homes and meeting ever more stringent standards in the social housing sector are affecting all housing associations and we're not immune.
At the same time we have strategically decided to prioritise investment in our customers’ homes with ongoing programmes around new homes, improved sustainability and energy saving measures as well as enhanced repairs and upgrade work. We built 266 new homes this year for a range of affordable tenures, including social and affordable rent, shared ownership and Rent to Buy. This is up from 227 the year before and a figure we’re only hoping to increase further next year.
As a not-for-profit social landlord, it’s imperative we keep our finances strong and we’re confident we'll continue doing this so we can keep on providing quality homes and services for better futures.
