Flagship Group on track to deliver 500 affordable homes

Flagship Group, based in Norwich, has announced a positive trading update for the six-month period to September 30 this year, turning over £128.5m – up £11m on the same period last year.

The east of England housing provider, which owns and manages more than 33,600 homes, recorded an operating profit of £57.3m.

Flagship has also invested £47.5m to improve its existing homes, which was up from £46.8m in the same period in 2023.

Jonathan McManus, Flagship’s chief financial officer, said: “Flagship has delivered a strong set of results for the first six months of this financial year.

“The group continues to maintain solid operating margins and stable liquidity headroom enabling us to continue investing in our existing homes whilst delivering a new affordable home programme of approximately 500 homes.”

Jonathan McManus, Flagship’s chief financial officer (Image: Flagship Group) However, Mr McManus said the broader economic environment remains tough.

“Interest rates aren’t falling as quickly as predicted, and sector-wide cost pressures are impacting operating margins,” he said.

READ MORE: Scientologist onion farmer sues family in civil war over control of £80m business

Flagship’s overall customer satisfaction was 86.4pc in September 2024 - the highest it has been in the past 12 months.

“Our tenants tell us that repair times are one of the biggest factors in their satisfaction, so we’ve made it a priority to improve this year,” Mr McManus said.

“Work-in-progress repairs have dropped from around 11,000 in April 2024 to 7,700 by September 2024.

“The percentage of repairs completed within 28 days has risen from 60pc to 78pc in that time, with a goal of reaching 95pc by March 2025.

“When excluding older legacy repairs, which we’re prioritising, we’re completing 99.7pc of routine repairs within 28 days, exceeding our 95pc target.”

READ MORE: How could your pension change off the back of the Budget?

Flagship is now moving forward with its plans to merge with Wolverhampton-based housing provider Bromford.

“Significant progress has been made by both parties with an expected merger date in the first half of 2025.

“The merger business case shows that the combination creates around £2bn in additional borrowing capacity over 15 years.

“This funding will enable new homes, large-scale regeneration projects, and investment in existing homes, supporting the new Labour government’s target of 1.5 million homes in five years.”