Peabody releases Group Annual Report

Getting the basics right and investing in residents’ homes

The economic conditions of the past year have presented significant challenges, but our values and priorities are unchanged. We continue to focus on what matters most to residents in 108,823 homes, improving homes and services across our 140 neighbourhoods.

During the year, we spent a total of £371m looking after residents’ homes. We invested £200m improving their condition and environmental performance and a further £171m on routine and cyclical maintenance. This is in line with our plans to spend over £2bn maintaining residents’ homes over five years.

We carried out 232,437 repairs during the year, with a satisfaction rate of 80 percent.  

Supporting residents

Our rents remain substantially below market levels at an average of £137 per week. The annual subsidy between our rents compared to market levels is £721m, a significant benefit to our residents, communities and the economy as a whole. 

We invested a further £10m directly into community activities during the year. Local organisations benefited from £200,000 in grants and we provided 48,000 hours of free activities as well as opening two new community spaces. Our Financial Inclusion team received 2,400 referrals and helped residents’ increase their income by a combined £2.2m.

We also supported more than 26,000 customers through our care and support services.

New homes and sustainable places

We completed 1,381 new homes (1,204 for affordable tenures). We have 5,800 homes under construction, providing much needed places to live in Thamesmead, Holloway, Dagenham and across London and the South-East.

Sustainability

With nearly 80 percent of our homes rated EPC C or above, we’re providing energy efficient homes that help keep residents’ bills down. Our carbon footprint increased due to the emissions from the extra maintenance and retrofitting work we carried out on residents’ homes and better access to data. We’re committed to reducing this and are working towards becoming a net-zero organisation.

Resilient finances

Despite challenging economic conditions, we performed strongly with a turnover of £989m. Our operating surplus for the last 12 months was £244m, enabling and supporting current and future investment plans across London and the home counties.

Our operating margin on social housing lettings was stable at 23 percent, compared with 24 percent in the previous year. Our overall operating margin before investment property valuation was 25 percent, compared to 23 percent the previous year. Careful stewardship of our development programme enabled us to improve the margin on first tranche shared ownership and market sales to 12 percent, up from 10 percent in the prior year.

Ian McDermott, Peabody's Chief Executive, said: “This last year has been full of challenges, especially as we continue to feel the impact of higher costs across the organisation. But true to our purpose, we’ve continued to invest over £1m a day for residents this year, maintaining and improving their homes and providing support in local communities. I’m grateful to all my colleagues and our partners who are working incredibly hard every day to help and support residents.”

On 2 September 2024 we welcomed Phil Day to Peabody as our new Chief Financial Officer.  Phil said: “I’m pleased to be joining Peabody at such an important time for the organisation and the social housing sector as a whole. These results show the strength and resilience of the organisation.

“I look forward to being part of Peabody’s future as the Group continues to invest in residents’ homes and build new affordable homes where possible.”    

Read the full report