Strategy
As an agile business, we review our strategic objectives annually.
Our strategy is focused on activity that will enhance EPRA NTA value and support further reductions in net debt and gearing. The strategic pillars which sit underneath articulate how we will achieve this and lay the foundations for sustainable growth.
This year, we have added a fifth strategic pillar around our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments. We believe that ESG should not be a stand-alone division, operating in silo to the rest of the business, but a key consideration in all business decisions. Including ESG as one of our pillars clearly states our commitment to achieving this
Our strategic pillars
01
Optimise returns from our valuable land portfolio
Building a valuable and robust land portfolio which will provide short, medium and long-term opportunities is key to the Group’s success, enabling a balanced return from our various revenue streams. Short and medium-term returns are achieved by the sale of plots with planning consent or the sale of whole consented sites, partnership housing contracts with housing associations, local authorities and Build to Rent (BtR) investors and our private housebuilding activity. Longer-term returns are delivered from the Group’s strategic land bank, where plots are usually controlled by way of a discount to market value option.
02
Grow the capital-light asset management division
We will grow the asset management division of the Group, managing the acquisition of the land and securing planning permission on behalf of third-party investors. This activity enables the Group to earn substantial management fees at various milestones of the project with a significantly reduced investment and working capital requirement. The transactions are generally structured so that they are non-recourse to the Group. At present, there is strong demand for our asset management services from investors.
03
Use the flexibility within our business model to maximise the value of land that has planning consent
We will continue to make the decision to sell, build or partner with others based on an assessment of which activity will deliver the highest returns and the Group’s cash requirements.
Demand from housing associations and BtR operators, for projects where we can provide the land and build out the projects, continues to grow.
We will continue to target our private housebuilding activity to the firsttime buyer market, building highquality, affordably priced homes.
04
Deliver homes which meet market needs in the most cost-effective way
Our award-winning developments underline our credentials as a high-quality housebuilder and there is sustained demand for both our private and partnership housing. We are now focused on improving the efficiency of our private and partnership housebuilding operations and controlling costs, whilst maintaining high levels of quality and customer satisfaction. Doing so will, over time, enhance our margins.
05
Embed sustainability within all areas of the business
This year, we have added a fifth strategic pillar around our ESG commitments. As specialists in brownfield regeneration, we already have a proud history of adding lasting value through our site remediation work, but we recognise that as our business has grown and diversified, so too has the impact of our operations. As a responsible business, we want to continue to be leaders in this industry.
It is with this experience in place and against the broader backdrop of the rapidly escalating climate emergency that we have developed our ESG framework. Under three key pillars, our ESG framework sets out our high-level commitments and how we measure our performance, progress and success.
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