2018/19 Annual report and financial statements around £105.3m 24.7% £20bn Surplus Operating 64,000 before tax margin Properties owned or managed Value of properties Available 2,031 liquidity Homes £775m completed Unencumbered 16,000 properties 2018 /19 Annual report & financial statements Contents Introduction 1 Strategic report 3 Governance 20 Independent auditors’ report to the members 30 Financial statements 38 Consolidated and NHG statement of comprehensive income for the year ended 31 March 2019 39 Statement of changes in reserves 40 Consolidated and NHG statement of financial position as at 31 March 2019 42 Consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 March 2019 43 Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019 44 Registered office Registrations Independent Principal Principal and head office auditors solicitors bankers Bruce Kenrick House Registered Society Number: BDO LLP Devonshires Solicitors LLP Barclays Bank PLC 2 Killick Street 7746 Statutory Auditors 30 Finsbury Circus Business Banking London N1 9FL Registered Provider Number: 55 Baker Street London Floor 28 Tel: 020 3815 0000 4880 London EC2M 7DT 1 Churchill Place www.nhggroup.org.uk A charity exempt from W1U 7EU London 2018 registration. Regulated by the E14 5HP /19 Regulator of Social Housing. Annual report & financial statements Introduction Mildmay, London Borough of Hackney 2018 /19 Annual Strategic report Financial statements Notes to the financial statements report & 1 financial Introduction Governance Independent auditors’ report statements Chair’s welcome I am pleased to introduce the 2018/19 annual new homes and started over 1,000 homes on I am delighted with the way in which the board report and financial statements, our first since site. We completed 2,111 homes during the and the executive team are already operating as we merged formally on 3rd April 2018. We year, but we also have experienced a rise in the one organisation and doing so in a much more have made good progress towards achieving number of unsold homes. Consequently, in late challenging environment that we could have our three year plan, although it is going to 2018 we decided to slow down the pace of our envisaged two years ago when we embarked take longer than we anticipated at the outset, development activity but not to completely stop upon merger discussions. This is testament to and there is much work still to be done. The - we remain committed to using the surpluses the leadership of Kate Davies and her executive challenging market conditions are reflected in generated by our commercial activities to create team. On behalf of the board, I also want to our results: the core non-sales related, operating more homes for lower income Londoners – thank the 2,355 people of Notting Hill Genesis for surplus has decreased to £136.5m compared our core social purpose. Notting Hill Genesis, their hard work and dedication in this first year with the pro-forma combined figure for 2017/18 like most registered providers, is committed to of integration, particularly given the uncertainty of £160.2m. The surplus on the sales of private our core social purpose – it drives everything surrounding their own roles for many individuals. homes and shared ownership first tranches we do. We do not pay any dividends and all I am also grateful to the many groups with whom was down from £41.3m to £24.2m. We invested our surpluses are re-invested into building new we work closely to achieve our aims, including £654.4m in 2018/19 in the development of homes for lower income households in London. our banks, institutional investors, local authorities, development partners, the Greater London Our liquidity position is deliberately large, with Authority, shareholders and our residents. about £775m in undrawn bank facilities and cash – reflecting the scale of uncertainty in which we Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to operate but also to enable us to move quickly thank former chair Dipesh Shah OBE, as well when the operating environment improves. as Elizabeth Froude and Eugenie Turton, all of whom left the board in 2018/19. All three made We now own and manage approximately 65,000 significant contributions during their time with homes, principally in London, which makes us us and were instrumental in the establishment the third largest housing association in London of Notting Hill Genesis. At the same time, I’m and the fifth largest in England. Scale is of no pleased to welcome Elaine Bucknor, who joined consequence to individual residents unless and us as a non-executive director in August 2018, until we can demonstrate that the incremental and the new chair Ian Ellis, who takes over from scale leads to a better service for them. We hope me on 1 September 2019. For full details of all that in 2019/20 the fruits of the work last year to board members, please take a look at page 22. secure the benefits of scale achieved through the merger will be evident both to our residents and our external stakeholders. Two years on from the Grenfell Tower fire in which we lost eight of our James Wardlaw residents, we have reviewed and strengthened Interim chair our approach to fire risk and management. Notting Hill Genesis 2018 /19 Annual Strategic report Financial statements Notes to the financial statements report & 2 financial Introduction Governance Independent auditors’ report statements Strategic report Royal Albert Wharf, London Borough of Newham 2018 /19 Annual Strategic report Financial statements Notes to the financial statements 3 report & Introduction financial Governance Independent auditors’ report statements Chief executive’s introduction Our strategic report for 2018/19 provides an overview of some of the work we’ve done in our first year as Notting Hill Genesis. The areas we identified as priorities when we first merged have been refined during our first year into five coherent strategic themes. This strategic report summarises performance against four of those five themes: our residents, our homes, our people and providing new homes. The fifth, which focuses on financial strength and value for money, is covered in subsequent sections. Within each of those themes, our fine group of colleagues, all of whom are immediate focus has been on effectively working so hard to improve our residents’ combining our predecessor organisations lives and create communities for future as part of an ambitious, challenging and generations. That they have managed to complex two-year integration programme, maintain business as usual at the same which seeks to achieve full-year savings time as bringing together our predecessor of £20 million from April 2020. Although organisations is a tribute to their skill and progress has initially been slower than we commitment, and I am truly grateful to hoped, we have made a good start and still them all. expect to deliver the full cost saving from April 2020. As our chair has already said in his introduction to the financial statements, Kate Davies our first year has been in turn stimulating, Chief executive challenging and rewarding. I feel Notting Hill Genesis enormously privileged to work with such a 2018 /19 Annual Strategic report Financial statements Notes to the financial statements 4 report & Introduction financial Governance Independent auditors’ report statements Year at a glance May June Colleagues able to access simplified, Involvement day across several locations standardised and automated key business April provides residents with a chance to say processes through the WorkWise staff how they want to work with us to ensure portal, a key aspect of our commitment Notting Hill Genesis formally created the services they receive are the best to greater efficiency and an improved following the amalgamation of its two they can be and fulfil the commitments resident experience. predecessor organisations. set out in our resident promise. September July National Housing Awards recognise two August of our developments, with Shakespeare Staff promise published, following input Road in Ealing winning best new scheme Notting Hill Genesis named on the from colleagues across the business. The in planning and extra care facility Cheviot Greater London Authority’s new £20 staff promise forms the foundation for Gardens in West Norwood being highly billion London Development Panel all the work we need to do around our commended in the best design category. (LDP2), enabling us to continue to work people through integration and beyond in partnership with them to deliver to make Notting Hill Genesis a place thousands of new homes for Londoners. where people want to work. 2018 /19 Annual Strategic report Financial statements Notes to the financial statements 5 report & Introduction financial Governance Independent auditors’ report statements November October December Board agrees strategic review of care and support services and the transfer of services in East Anglia to other Our volunteer network visits hostels and Woodberry Down in Hackney is named organisations better placed to provide refuges in the lead-up to Christmas to UK Project of the Year by the Royal high standard care in that area. drop off bags of presents from our staff Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Christmas appeal, which saw colleagues providing gifts and cash donations for families in need. March February New live-chat functionality to our January customer service centre exceeds 1,000 chats. One of several initiatives to Publication of first corporate strategy for improve digital services for our residents, We participated in the social media Notting Hill Genesis, setting out how, live-chat is also substantially reducing the campaign to launch the G15’s together, we will be able to do more number of calls to the customer service Gogglebox-style video highlighting the for our residents and make a bigger centre. work of housing associations and how it difference for those in housing need.