The Regulator of Social Housing has today (10 January 2023) published its 2022 Global Accounts, which provide a financial overview of private registered providers of social housing for the year up to 31 March 2022. The sector had strong liquidity and continued to secure new finance in the year. However, record levels of spend on existing stock resulted in lower operating margins and levels of interest cover. The economic backdrop has since become significantly more challenging with higher inflation, higher interest rates and a softening housing market. These trends have continued into the current financial year.
The sector had strong aggregate liquidity in 2022 and remained attractive to investors. £12.5 billion in new facilities were agreed in the year, with £7.4 billion coming from capital markets.
Providers’ investment in existing homes increased to record levels, with total spend on repairs and maintenance reaching £6.5 billion. This was 20% higher than the previous year and significantly above pre-pandemic levels. As a result of this high spend on existing homes the…
