The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Full steam ahead:
Directors thrilled at credit rating during ‘trying times’
A leading housing association in Peterborough has been praised for its financial management but has been warned of a strain on profits ahead.
Cross Keys Homes, in Shrewsbury Avenue, Woodston, which manages about 10,000 properties, has retained its A+ rating from the credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings (S&P).
But the S&P report also warned that expected profitability at the association is likely to be ‘strained’ over the next three years due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic and higher costs.
However, it added that despite the impact of Covid-19, profits before deductions would still remain 30 per cent above revenue.
S&P has also kept its A+ rating on the £250 million bond which Cross Keys issued six years ago as the association sought to restructure its finances and build new homes.
Claire Higgins, the association’s chief executive, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have retained our A+ rating, particularly in such trying times. Our Board, directors and employees have shown exceptional fortitude to ensure we react with prudence and agility to the ever changing landscape in which we work.
“We continue to work hard to maintain our financial strength and stability to ensure the security of our tenants and to build the affordable homes that are desperately needed while still providing the support services and community investment of which we are so proud. Now, more than ever, we are seeing the importance of the community commitment shown by housing associations such as ourselves in ensuring the most vulnerable are protected.”