Bromford calls on sector’s ESG board to promote ‘golden metrics’ as it embeds KPIs into trading update

Imran Mubeen, director of treasury at Bromford, said: “This year’s trading update marks a step change in the way we are presenting our results, as we start to disclose our sustainability performance alongside our financial performance.

“It is really important that we continue to consider and communicate the impact we have on our people and places. We want to give this the highest visibility through these market updates so we are absolutely held to account on the progress we are making and the further work we need to do.”

Mr Mubeen appealed to the board behind the sector’s ESG standard – the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing (SRS) – to encourage others to adopt the approach. 

“We are calling on Sustainability for Housing [SfH] to promote a set of golden metrics within the sector’s Sustainability Reporting Standard to ensure that these key drivers are not lost in the detail of broader reporting, and so all of our stakeholders can identify with ease our core performance,” he said.

SfH is currently consulting on a draft ‘Version 2.0’ of the standard, which includes a boosted focus on residents, housing quality, and approaches to equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Responding to the call to action, Brendan Sarsfield, chair of SfH, said: “Bromford are passionate supporters of the SRS and we welcome their contribution to the debate.

“As the consultation into the next version of the standard comes to a close, we will reflect on all the different views expressed and the valuable feedback we have received.

“We will continue to listen and collaborate so that the standard remains of value to the sector, and meets the needs of its key stakeholders.”

Bromford’s new approach to reporting reflects three ‘overarching frameworks’ that the association says it now uses to guide all strategic decisions: ‘financial, customer and sustainability’.

The landlord will update its sustainable finance framework – launched in 2021 – to reflect this, committing to “measure the health of the organisation” through these lenses. 

Social and governance

Within its ‘social’ indicators, the organisation recorded a market-social rent differential of 54 per cent, and said it let 27 per cent of its rented homes to people experiencing homelessness. It has an aspiration for 30 per cent of all new lettings to be offered to homeless families in its communities.

During the year, 1,265 homes were delivered (up from 1,224 last year), of which 44 per cent – 554 homes – were at social rents.

The landlord, whose SLL with SMBC marked the sector’s first to be linked to governance metrics (and the first in any sector to be linked to the gender pay gap), also published KPIs within this area.

These showed a male to female ratio of 9:4 within its board and executive, and a gender pay gap of 6.5 per cent. The ethnicity pay gap was 4.4 per cent.

The landlord, which is graded G1/V1 by the Regulator of Social Housing, recorded that 100 per cent of its homes are gas and safety compliant, while decent homes represent 99.9 per cent.

The organisation’s post-tax surplus figure of £64m was down slightly on last year’s £69m, after the 2022 results included a gain on disposal of £11m relating to a sale of homes as part of its stock rationalisation strategy.

The report indicates an 18-month liquidity requirement of £233m, with current cash and undrawn facilities of £455m.

Future sustainable funding

Writing in the trading update document, Mr Mubeen said that the organisation, which has committed to all future funding being ‘sustainable’, is “likely to issue… new capital markets funding in the next 12 months”. 

He added: “We are also extending and expanding our revolving credit facilities with new offers already in place to meet our future liquidity requirements, with each new facility having a unique sustainability link.”

The organisation is currently “on a journey” to have its golden metrics audited, he said, so that data underpinning its sustainability performance has the same “veracity and credibility” as its financial performance.

Mr Mubeen added: “Ultimately, for our customers to see the true benefits of our sustainability strategy, a shared purpose and commitment must run right through the organisation – including the way we are funded and financed. This step change in reporting brings together the shared objectives of our stakeholders and will help to co-create new linkages between our funding and what truly makes a difference to our people.”