Abri in partnership talks with Octavia Housing
We're exploring options for a formal partnership with Octavia Housing.
Wayne Morris, Abri’s Group Chair said:
“We were pleased to be given the opportunity to develop a potential partnership with Octavia. We have enormous respect for their 150-year heritage. Given our adjoining geographies and shared ambition, the partnership offers a potentially strong strategic fit. The deal could unlock greater investment in housing and support services, as well as protect the long-term provision of some 5,000 social and affordable homes in London.”
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.
Moody's Credit Rating 2023
We’re pleased to be rated A3 stable by Moody’s, reflecting our commitment to deliver more homes to the highest standards and reinvest in our existing properties.
“We're pleased that Abri has an A3 stable rating from Moody's. This reflects our strong market position and our solid liquidity. In their credit opinion, Moody’s also highlighted Abri's strong unencumbered asset base, which will help raise new funding. The stable outlook reflects the proactive actions taken by Abri to mitigate the adverse effects of the weaker operating environment, thereby limiting development risk.
“In addition, the Regulator of Social Housing also reaffirmed Abri’s G1/V1 rating, its highest grades for both governance and viability."
Vimal Gaglani, Director of Treasury & Financial Planning
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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