Information for investors
Keep up to date with our recent investors updates.
Abri Group and Octavia Housing – formal partnership completed
On 16 December 2024, the formal partnership between Abri Group limited and Octavia Housing (Octavia) was completed. This sees Octavia Housing become a wholly owned subsidiary of Abri. In November 2024, the Regulator of Social Housing announced that Abri had retained its G1 V1 ratings, the highest governance and financial viability rating that can be achieved. Moody’s also reaffirmed Abri’s credit rating of A3 stable for all of its entities, reflecting Abri’s strong financial position and capacity to support Octavia in completing its recovery.
Gary Orr, Group Chief Executive at Abri commented:
“We are pleased to announce the successful completion of our partnership with Octavia, marking a significant milestone. However, there is still much work to be done to stabilise Octavia's financial position and improve the homes and services it provides to its residents”.
“With Abri's extensive experience in integrating organisations, along with recent confirmation of its G1/V1 regulatory rating and A3 stable credit rating, we are well-positioned to complete Octavia’s recovery and to start to deliver improved services to its residents.
“We are committed to protecting and enhancing the legacy of Octavia Hill, a founder of the social housing movement. We will continue to honour and build upon this distinguished heritage as we move forward.”
In October 2024, the boards of housing providers Abri group and Octavia Housing approved a final business case for a formal partnership between the two organisations.
On 5 November 2024, Octavia shareholders voted in favour of a change of rules to allow Octavia to join the Abri group as a subsidiary.
For more information, please contact Vimal Gaglani, Director of Treasury & Financial Planning at Abri: vimal.gaglani@abri.co.uk
Abri Group and Octavia Housing - final business case and shareholder approvals
In October 2024, the boards of housing providers Abri group and Octavia Housing approved a final business case for a formal partnership between the two organisations.
On 5 November 2024, Octavia shareholders voted in favour of a change of rules to allow Octavia to join the Abri group as a subsidiary. The agreement for a partnership remains on track and the remaining formalities are progressing ahead of final completion, anticipated in mid-December 2024.
For more information, please contact Vimal Gaglani, Director of Treasury & Financial Planning at Abri: vimal.gaglani@abri.co.uk
We've retained our A3 Moody’s credit rating
10 October 2024
We're pleased to share that we have retained our A3 stable credit rating from Moody’s, reflecting Abri’s strong financial position and continued resilience against a challenging economic backdrop.
The rating follows the retention of our G1/V1 rating from the Regulator of Social Housing in November 2023, demonstrating our effective governance and financial and operational resilience.
On Abri’s performance, Vimal Gaglani, Director of Treasury and Financial Planning at Abri said:
“We’re pleased to have retained our A3 stable rating. This, alongside a strong set of annual accounts and G1/V1 rating, demonstrates our strength and resilience in a difficult operating environment.
“Moody’s have recognised Abri’s moderate gearing, solid liquidity, and strong market position as a growing housing association. With our retained rating, and having transferred engagements of Silva Homes to the Group this month, we’ll be able to deliver even more on our commitments to build more affordable homes, invest in our existing homes and improve our customer services.”
As we approach the end of Abri’s Achieving Together strategy (2022-2025), the rating allows us to look to the future with confidence, while keeping our customers at the heart of everything we do. We’re investing in our existing homes - improving building and fire safety, tackling issues like damp and mould and enabling all our homes to reach EPC C.
Transfer of Engagements (Silva Homes to Abri Group)
1 October 2024
In September 2023, Silva Homes joined the Abri group as a subsidiary but remained a separate legal entity and kept the same name, branding and other visible aspects. Since then work has been going on to prepare for Silva joining the Abri group fully.
On 1 October 2024, the transfer of engagements process took place between Silva Homes and the Abri group. This means that Silva has fully transferred into Abri and will stop operating as a separate business.
Caroline Moore, Chief Financial Officer at Abri commented;
“We’re pleased that the transfer of engagements has now been completed. Behind the scenes we’ve been aligning our processes, policies, and terms and conditions to prepare for Silva joining the Abri group.
“We want to reassure our customers that the improvements they have seen since Silva joined Abri will continue. It’s all part of our move to delivering our services on a regional basis which will allow us to bring the benefits of a large organisation while meeting the local needs and priorities of our customers.”
Abri in partnership talks with Octavia Housing
We're exploring options for a formal partnership with Octavia Housing.
Octavia’s board chose Abri as its preferred potential partner after an extensive selection process co-ordinated by Savills.
Prior to the final business case, both organisations have agreed to collaborate on some of Octavia’s immediate priorities.
An investor presentation supporting the combination of Abri and Octavia Housing can be found here:
Protecting our homes from damp and mould
Abri takes any instances of damp and mould extremely seriously and has a dedicated Quality Assurance (QA) team in place, including a Senior Surveyor who is also a qualified Environmental Health Officer.
Sustainable Financing Framework (SFF) 2022
We're pleased to have released our first Sustainable Financing Framework (SFF) alongside our second Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report.
Vimal Gaglani, Director of Treasury and Financial Planning said; “As a housing provider, we have a duty to respond to the climate crisis and make sure that as an organisation we are prepared. We take this responsibility seriously and creating a sustainable future is one of our strategic priorities.
“Our first Sustainable Finance Framework will allow us to access green funding that will help us to deliver much needed sustainable and energy efficient homes and to create thriving communities.”
Abri’s SFF aligns with its Environmental, Sustainable and Governance (ESG) strategy – a set of standards that guide and provide a constant source of accountability and consistency for our environmental, social and governance priorities. Underpinned by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development goals, it ensures the funding sourced is invested in the right places and that we are measuring the impact it’s having on our customer and community outcomes.
The wider social housing sector has the potential to make a huge impact in both cutting carbon emissions and embedding the behavioural shifts that support long term change. In April 2021, Abri, along with four peer housing providers founded the Greener Futures Partnership. Representing 300,000 homes, the partnership is committed to improving the energy efficiency of its customers’ homes, as well as creating shared standards for sustainability across the sector.
ESG Social Housing Working Group: Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing
Building new, affordable homes is one of our top priorities, and doing it in a way that is mindful of the environment and smart in design is really important. However, providing housing is only part of our purpose because we’re also on a mission to create thriving communities where equal opportunity is a reality.
We’re not the only people passionate about these things and we’re excited about giving our full support to a Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing that has just been launched by the ESG Social Housing Working Group.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: what are we doing?
All In – our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
All In is our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. It’s about making sure that we’ve not just got a seat at the table, but that we’re part of the conversation. It’s about making sure everyone is treated with respect and reaffirming that there’s no place for discrimination, of any kind, on our doorstep. It’s about making change from the inside, so we can become a truly great place to work, for everyone. All In is part of a wider EDI strategy that has been created in partnership with our EDI committee.
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