Housing association Aster Group has seen revenue leap by a fifth to around £300m during a year when it delivered its highest-ever total of new properties.
The Wiltshire-based organisation, which has properties across the South of England and London, reported turnover of £301m in the year to March 2023, up from £241m for the same period a year earlier
The company, which has its head office in Devizes, said record revenue had been boosted by its merger with London care services and affordable housing provider Central and Cecil (C&C), which completed at the start of 2022.
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Operating profit for the year was £66m, down from £76m in 2022, with pre-tax profit of £55m compared to £171m for the previous financial year.
Aster said last year’s figures had been boosted by a gain from the acquisition of C&C, while this year’s figure also included a gain following last October’s purchase of Hampshire-based charity Enham Trust, which supports disabled people to live more independent lives.
During the year Aster delivered 1,312 new properties, its highest total to date. Bosses said the group had invested £83m across its estate of more than 36,000 properties, with more than 120,000 repairs completed.
Group chief executive Bjorn Howard said it had been a “transformative” year for the group, adding: “While developing as many new affordable homes each year remains a key priority, we’re focused on improving our existing portfolio, underlined by the significant amount invested in repairs and maintenance. All this work is underpinned by our outstanding employees, who deliver lasting benefits for our customers and communities, day in and day out.”
Aster said it expects to build more than 1,100 homes in 2023/24 as part of its plans to invest more than £2bn to deliver around 10,000 properties in the next seven years.
Dorset-based East Boro Housing Trust (EBHT) is also part of Aster Group.
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