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East of England housing association hires head of finance

News23 Apr 2024Michael Lloyd

East of England-based housing association Eastlight Community Homes has appointed James Lomas to the newly created role of head of finance.

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James Lomas, head of finance at Eastlight Community Homes
James Lomas: “Having worked in the affordable housing sector previously and after leaving for a brief period, it’s great to be back”
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East of England housing association hires head of finance #UKhousing #SocialHousingFinance
East of England-based housing association Eastlight Community Homes has appointed James Lomas to the newly created role of head of finance #UKhousing #SocialHousingFinance

Mr Lomas is an accountant qualified via the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He has over 10 years’ experience in financial services, including six years in the affordable housing sector.

 

Mr Lomas will lead and support the finance team at the 12,500-home resident-led housing association for the East of England.

 

This includes overseeing operations, accounts payable and receivable, procurement, income, budgets, and Eastlight’s financial and regulatory reporting.

 

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Mr Lomas joins from law firm Birkett Long, where he was a financial controller. Prior to this, he held senior finance roles, including as head of financial accounting and financial accounting manager at 11,500-home housing association CHP.

 

Before entering into a financial career, he previously worked in engineering and project management at a range of infrastructure and consultancy firms, including Amey, Bidwells and AECOM.

 

Mr Lomas said: “I’m delighted to join the Eastlight team in the new role of head of finance, and I am incredibly grateful to all for the warm welcome I’ve received.

 

“Having worked in the affordable housing sector previously and after leaving for a brief period, it’s great to be back and contribute to Eastlight’s hard work in delivering safe, warm and comfortable homes for its customers, while steering the organisation through an ever-challenging economic environment.”

Eastlight has regulatory grades of G1/V1 for governance and financial viability from the Regulator of Social Housing.

 

According to its latest financial results, the housing association posted a surplus of £8.7m in 2022-23, a rise from £8.1m in the previous year.

 

Eastlight said the surplus was lower than its original budget because of the ongoing effects of the pandemic, the high cost of building materials, economic impacts of the war in Ukraine, and the surge in utility costs and inflation generally.

 

These impacts were mitigated by a lower-than-forecast charge for interest costs, the landlord added in its results.

East of EnglandFinanceHousing Association/RPPeople
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