Sovereign Network Group's Quarterly Performance Update covering unaudited Q1 results for the financial year 2026/27

Sovereign Network Group (SNG)

SNG is one of the largest housing associations in the UK with 86,000 homes, a core geographical focus in the South of England, including London, and an ambition to develop 22,500 homes over the next 10 years in support of its customer experience and asset management strategies.

Highlights

·    Turnover of £195.1m [Q1 FY26: £194.7m]

·    Retained surplus of £20.6m [Q1 FY26: £19.9m]

·    Credit ratings: Moody's A3 (Outlook: Stable), S&P A- (Outlook: Stable)

·    Delivery of 310 new homes [Q1 FY26: 312], with a forward pipeline of 11,622 homes

·    Customer Satisfaction at 67.4% [Q1 FY26: 64.7%]

·    Average routine repair times reduced by seven days [Q1 FY26 against Q1 FY27]

Unaudited performance update - period to 30 June 2026

SNG's unaudited underlying financial performance in Q1 FY27 shows an increase in operating surplus and retained surplus against the previous quarter, as well as year on year increases against Q1 FY26. There is also no impairment charge in Q1 FY27, unlike in Q4 which impacted a small number of schemes. These impairments are not expected to be recurring.

Treasury

As at Q1 FY27, SNG had total long-term facilities of £5,422m. £4,397m of which were drawn, with £1,025m of available liquidity facilities.

There continues to be significant headroom against Interest Cover and Gearing covenants across all SNG facilities.

Credit ratings

SNG has an A3 (Outlook: Stable) rating with Moody's. 

SNG has an A- (Outlook: Stable) with S&P.  

Operational performance - Homes and Place

SNG's development programme produced 310 handovers in Q1 FY27 [Q1 FY26: 312]. It holds one of the largest development pipelines in the housing association sector with 11,622 units as at the end of Q1, of which, 8,861 are committed, inclusive of JV units. All homes are built to meet SNG's Homes and Place Standard in line with its long-term asset management strategy that ensures high standards of sustainability and liveability to improve the customer experience and reduce ongoing costs to customers and the organisation.

Significant bids have been submitted to Homes England and the GLA under the Social and Affordable Housing Programme.

Operational performance - customer service

Good progress is being made towards achieving a C1 rating against the Consumer Standards from the Regulator of Social Housing. SNG currently holds a compliant C2 rating. Customer Satisfaction rose to 67.4% [Q1 FY26: 64.7%] maintaining a positive trend. Average routine repairs timescales have reduced by seven days [Q1 FY26 against Q1 FY27], and evidence is now available that the tenant engagement approach put in place at merger is successful. Complaints performance for Stage 1 was at 93% [Q1 FY26: 87%] and AI-enabled approaches are being implemented to further improve our service.

In Q1, SNG measured £17.35m of social value from the work of its Community Foundation, against a quarterly target of £15m. This included:

·    92 customers supported into new jobs, and 815 training outcomes.

·    £618,632 of direct savings to customers through 542 fuel insecurity interventions, 394 digital inclusion interventions and 78 debt advice cases.

For more information, please contact:
Anup Dholakia, Treasury Director
07920205992 

James McLarin, Strategy and External Affairs Director

07776616024 

Disclaimer The information contained herein (the "Trading Update") has been prepared by Sovereign Network Group (the "Parent") and its subsidiaries (the "Group"), including Sovereign Advances Ltd, Sovereign Housing Capital PLC (the "Issuers") and is for information purposes only.

The Trading Update should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities issued by the Parent, the Issuers or any other member of the Group, or any interest in any such securities, and nothing herein should be construed as a recommendation or advice to invest in any such securities.

Statements in the Trading Update, including those regarding possible or assumed future or other performance of the Group as a whole or any member of it, industry growth or other trend projections may constitute forward-looking statements and as such involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance is given that such forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. They speak only as at the date of the Trading Update and neither the Parent nor any other member of the Group undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments, occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise.

None of the Parent, any member of the Group or anyone else is under any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in the Trading Update. The information in the Trading Update is subject to verification, does not purport to be comprehensive, is provided as at the date of the Trading Update and is subject to change without notice.

No reliance should be placed on the information or any projections, targets, estimates or forecasts and nothing in the Trading Update is or should be relied on as a promise or representation as to the future. No statement in the Trading Update is intended to be an estimate or forecast. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Parent, any other member of the Group or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers, agents or any other persons as to the accuracy or validity of the information or opinions contained in the Trading Update (and whether any information has been omitted from the Trading Update). The Trading Update does not constitute legal, tax, accounting or investment advice.

www.sng.org.uk/working-with-us/investors

Note: Figures quoted in the update are based on unaudited management accounts which are subject to review and further adjustments, for example in the areas of pensions, investment property valuation and taxation.