Stonewater Ltd is a housing association formed by the merger of Raglan Housing and Jephson Group in 2015.[1] Stonewater owns and manages 32,000 homes[2] and has turnover of £191 million.[3]

Raglan

Raglan Housing owned and managed more than 12,300 affordable homes in 95 local authority areas,[4] mainly concentrated across the south east, south west and midlands and east of England.[5] Raglan raises funding through a bond taken up by an independent bulk annuity provider.[6][7]

Raglan properties are a mix of new homes in inner city, urban and rural areas for general rental and shared ownership. Raglan also redevelop redundant brownfield sites and empty properties in support of town center regeneration and provide supported and sheltered housing along with specialist women's refuges.

The association also manages housing for the disabled[8] and shelters for the homeless.[9]

Each June the Association's employees participate in a "cleanup-paintup" event, volunteering their time to improve the housing in their communities.[10]

Raglan Housing Association is a Charitable Industrial and Provident Society (no 20558R,[11] registered with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) (no L1556).

Background

In the 1960s two voluntary groups, the Inskip League of Friendship and Poole and East Dorset Club for the Disabled, approached Poole Borough Council (now the Borough of Poole) to build housing for disabled people. The Council suggested the formation of a housing association to undertake the work and take advantage of the grants available. As a result, Inskip Housing Association was formed and Friendship House was opened in May 1972.

In 1976 registration with the Housing Corporation was completed and the name confirmed as Raglan Housing Association. In October 1993 Astra Housing Association merged with Raglan, increasing the Association's stock to nearly 6,000 homes. In 2001, with almost 9,000 homes, Raglan conducted an 18-month review of how services were provided to residents, resulting in the introduction of a centralised Housing Services Centre, a one-stop shop for all resident repair requests and enquiries. In 2002 Raglan created Raglan Home Ltd to provide homes for sale and a development programme which emphasized shared ownership and key worker homes.[12] In May 2012 Raglan’s head office was relocated from Poole to Reading.

Finance

During 2011 and 2012, Raglan’s annual turnover was £56m. The landlord was also accredited as Aa2 Credit Rating by Moody’s Investors Service prior to its bond being confirmed.[13]

On 31 March 2012 the association had three wholly owned subsidiary companies: Raglan Developments (formerly Raglan Homes), to develop build-for-sale properties (dormant during 2011/12); Raglan Design and Build, to oversee new build projects; and Raglan Homes Limited, a new Industrial and Provident Society subsidiary, registered with the HCA, to raise finance to build new homes.

In May 2021 the association announced plans to move to home-based working with hubs based in Coventry, Reading and Bournemouth. Staff are offered an interest-free loan of up to £10,000 to creat defined workspaces in their homes.[14]

Jephson

Prior to the merger, the Jephson Group comprised Jephson Homes Housing Association Limited (JHHAL), Jephson Housing Association Limited (JHAL) and Marches Housing Association Limited (MHAL). It operated in most counties of England.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Merger creates 31,000-home landlord"
  2. ↑ Housing Today https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/stonewater-to-build-1000-homes-next-year/5103051.article
  3. ↑ Stonewater Annual Report 2019, https://edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=d7343617-c725-4f68-b61d-b0bfb83599cd
  4. ↑ Residents set to benefit with Hundred Houses, HHS news article, 19 July 2012
  5. ↑ Offices to close at housing association, Bournemouth Daily Echo, 5 January 2011
  6. ↑ "News article". Inside Housing. 18 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "London Stock Exchange Agreement" (PDF). PDF. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  8. ↑ Independent Living for Physically Disabled People. iUniverse. 2001. pp. 104–. ISBN 978-0-595-17797-4.
  9. ↑ "New housing project owners aiming to support Exeter homeless".By G. Richardson |Express & Echo, October 16, 2013
  10. ↑ "Brighton Hill houses given makeover by Raglan Housing Association". Basingstoke Gazette.
  11. ↑ "Mutuals Public Register". Charitable & Industrial Provident Society.
  12. ↑ "Moves and Shakers"%5d "News Article". Inside Housing. 19 February 2010. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  13. ↑ "Moody's assigns Aa2 rating to Raglan Housing Association; outlook negative". Moody's Investment Service. 14 September 2012.
  14. ↑ "Large housing association announces permanent move to homeworking". Inside Housing. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  15. ↑ Jephson Group Accounts 2014 https://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1370G_-2015-2-27.pdf
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