Accent Housing, a housing association based in the United Kingdom, is eagerly anticipating the announcement of the next round of Homes England grant funding. The organization’s plans for future development and investment are contingent upon the availability of these grants.Accent Housing, a housing association based in the United Kingdom, is eagerly anticipating the announcement of the next round of Homes England grant funding. The organization’s plans for future development and investment are contingent upon the availability of these grants. Over the next few months, Accent will focus on its new corporate strategy and 10-year investment plan, which will guide the organization’s operations under the leadership of its CEO, Julie Ireland. Ireland emphasizes the importance of this strategic planning process. Accent’s financial strategy includes increasing its planned spend and returning to the capital markets for additional funding. The organization aims to secure a significant amount of future funding to support its development program. Ireland notes that development is crucial for generating additional rental income, which is necessary to support its existing homes and maintain a balanced income profile. In terms of its housing stock, Accent prioritizes the improvement of its existing homes and identifies sites that may require redevelopment to meet modern standards. Ireland highlights the importance of providing safe and suitable housing for tenants, particularly in relation to building safety concerns. Accent has conducted a comprehensive review of its portfolio and has a low risk exposure to building safety costs due to its limited number of high-rise blocks. Accent is also undergoing internal changes, including the closure of its head office and the consolidation of employees into two regional offices in Bradford and Peterborough. The organization has also hired a chief information officer to enhance its IT processes and improve tenant communication channels. Ireland emphasizes the importance of understanding customer experiences and using feedback to improve services. She believes that her personal experiences have shaped her approach to her work and her commitment to providing quality housing for tenants.
The housing association is in the same position as its peers: waiting to hear what the next round of Homes England grant funding will look like.
“Basically, if you haven’t got stuff in your pipeline very shortly now, for a start on site by March 2026, you’re not going to be able to deliver. But we’re progressing. We’re working on our pipeline on the basis that we will have grant in the future. We intend to carry on developing at the same rate as we are at the moment,” Ms Ireland says.
Over the next few months, Accent will focus on its new corporate strategy and 10-year investment plan, which Ms Ireland says is “one of the key things” of her tenure.
“We have additional rental income coming in from new stock. We’ve increased our planned spend dramatically. Last year, we spent just over £24m on our planned programme,” she says.
“We’ve identified some other sites that we think will be difficult to bring up to modern standards, so we’ll be working with customers on those in the future.”
Accent will also return to the capital markets after its first foray in 2019, when it issued £350m of bonds.
“We’ve got a revolving credit facility to tide us over. We will be looking to secure a significant amount of future funding for our forward programme, and that’s something that we’re actively looking at,” she says.
This is another reason why development is vital, she says. Over 90% of Accent’s homes are let at social rent, with hardly any properties at affordable rent.
“That’s a very different income profile to other housing associations. We couldn’t borrow £350m and spend it all on our existing homes, because we wouldn’t have any more income to pay that money back,” Ms Ireland notes.
She adds that the landlord hasn’t been hit with vast building safety costs because it has few high-rise blocks. “Two blocks in the South are medium rise, and everything else is pretty much two, three storey – even the flats we have. That is a very helpful dimension to our overall strategy.”
Accent is undergoing some internal changes, too, having closed its head office in Shipley, Yorkshire, to instead concentrate employees in two regional offices, one in Bradford and one in Peterborough.
It has also hired a chief information officer, who will be tasked with transforming the landlord’s IT processes and streamlining the way tenants can get in touch.
“We’ve started our process of mapping our customer journey. We’re really aware of all the touch points and pain points in that relationship.
“I like to look at complaints to learn from them,” she adds. “They’re all little nuggets of feedback.”
Ms Ireland’s lived experience continues to influence the way she approaches her work. “It’s about that insight, I suppose,” she says.
