黑洞社区

Clarion鈥檚 surplus fell by nearly half last year as the firm counted the cost of contractor failures and a crippling cyber attack which hit it for 拢17m.

The 135,000-home housing association, in its financial statement for the year to 31 March, said its surplus fell 48% to below 拢100m.

One-off items included the cost of dealing with firms going under including offsite contractor Mid Group鈥檚 failure last summer, which led to work on a 17-storey tower block for Clarion in Bristol being stopped.

And Manchester contractor Beaumont Morgan which was building a 271-home block for the association in Salford also went into administration last year.

The group said last summer鈥檚 cyber attack cost it 拢5m to deal with initially and a further 拢12m in bad debt provisions as it impacted Clarion鈥檚 ability to collect rent.

Clarion reported an overall surplus of 拢96.8m, down from the 拢185.8m reported the previous year, with the number also hit by 拢45m of breakage costs related to refinancing.

It said that its annual turnover during the period dropped 5% as its development sales revenue plummeted with income falling to 拢1.01bn from 拢1.06bn last time.

Group sales income fell from 拢307m to 拢220m, with open market sales income falling from 拢157m to 拢99m and shared ownership income dropping from 拢150m to 拢121m. The fall was partially offset by a 拢28m increase in revenue from social housing lettings.

Clarion said the reduction in sales turnover reflected lower completions as it 鈥渢ook a more cautious approach to development in the current climate鈥�. It completed 2,032 homes in the year, 11% fewer than the previous year鈥檚 total of 2,276.

The firm has quietly scaled back its long-term development ambitions after saying in its 2018/19 financial statements that it wanted to build 5,000 homes a year.

A year later this had dropped to 4,000 and in its most recent accounts, for 2021-22, the aim had changed again, with Clarion pledging to 鈥渃onsistently build 3,200 homes a year鈥�.