Welcome to our
first annual report
as new Torus.

1st April 2018 - 31st March 2019

Annual Report

On 1st January 2019, Torus and Liverpool Mutual Homes came together to form a new and ambitious social purpose group with an unwavering resolve to make a difference across the communities we serve.

New Torus builds on the high performance of these two strong legacy organisations and their shared commitment to create quality affordable homes, provide excellent services and grow stronger communities.

We unveiled our Corporate Plan 2019 - 2024 earlier this year, setting out our ambitions to enhance customer services, build at least 5,300 homes in the next five years and reinvest £5m every year into social projects across Torus' heartland areas of Liverpool, Warrington and St Helens.

This vision is at the heart of everything we do.

Last year was a time of transition, and that sense of change is reflected in this report. We have brought together the outcomes achieved by LMH Group and legacy Torus from 1st April to 31st December - and by new Torus from 1st January to 31st March - to present a single clear snapshot of our collective results.

Amalgamation has made us stronger and more prepared to meet future housing and wider social challenges, including a severe local shortage of affordable homes and the continuing impacts of Welfare Reform on tenants and communities.

These issues will remain core priorities in the coming year and beyond.

2018/19
Snapshot

Headline results for the year included:

£193.7m

turnover
(2017/18: £189.4m)

£53.0m

surplus
(2017/18: £69.6m)

£849.4m

total value of assets
(2017/18: £767.1m)

37,561

homes
(2017/18: 37,349)

451

new homes
created

£2m

gift aided to fund
social projects

Torus at a glance

We are more than a joining together
of landlords. This report highlights the group's
achievements in 2018/19 across 4 distinct
business areas - landlord services (great homes),
property development (ambitious developments),
social entrepreneur (strong communities) and
commercial contracting.

Great
Homes

We believe that everyone should have a place
they can call home, somewhere they feel safe
and somewhere they can afford.

Landlord services are delivered through our
local brands: LMH in Liverpool, Helena Homes
in St Helens and Golden Gates Housing Trust
in Warrington.

Our homes

We are broadening the mix of home types and tenures we offer
to reflect changing local needs. Last year, our stock included:

33,052

  social housing general needs



3,641

  homes for older people



638

  shared ownership homes



115

  homes managed on behalf of others



82

  homes leased to the Bamboo Lettings joint venture



33

  non social housing properties



We also managed  

1,134

  properties on behalf of Torus leaseholders

Maintaining and repairing homes

last year, we invested  

£15.2m

  to improve our homes, and

£39.8m

  on repairs and maintenance



87.5%

  of our tenants are satisfied with landlord services



100%

  of our homes meet the Government's Decent Homes Standard



Our new Tenant Voice Strategy encourages customers to have a say in what we do. Read more about how you can get involved here.

Strong
Communities

Last year's highlights included:

£7.6m

  delivered in social impact



Every  

£1

  spent delivered  

£8.60

  in social value



643

  people helped into employment



521

  people benefitted from digital training



£3.9m

  in financial gain was unlocked for  

1,630

  customers



1,086

  people attended health & wellbeing services

We are committed to unlocking the potential that exists across communities and empowering the people who live in them.

Our charitable arm Torus Foundation works to address deprivation, promote inclusion and support customers and communities to thrive and be the best they can be.

Find out more about the community projects we delivered in 2018/19 and their outcomes in our new Torus Foundation Social Impact Report.

Ambitious Developments

Our new-build strategy is delivering new
homes across all tenures - to help meet
the needs of a growing and multi-generational
population. We'll build at least 5,300 new homes
by 2024 with a focus on the affordable
homes local people need.

Last year's highlights included:

£95.5m

  invested in new homes



£19.0

  grant funding received



£66m

  unlocked in grant funding to build new homes through the Homes England Wave 2 Strategic Partnership



451

  new homes completed across 20 sites





1,500

  additional homes on site



Schemes completed in 2018/19 included:

Mark Rake, Wirral

Notre Dame, Liverpool

Pennington Wharf, Wigan

Liberty Place, St Helens

Commercial
Contracting

This year, we completed:

87,269

  home repairs



An average of  

239

  responsive repairs every day



98.74%

  of total repairs were completed within target



1,621

  total repairs for Steve Biko



Our commercial arm HMS provides around-the-clock repair and maintenance services for Torus customers and other clients across the North West. This includes Reactive and Planned Maintenance activities for other landlord clients, including Steve Biko Housing Association.

The team's activities have expanded into new-build construction and this year saw HMS deliver a range of completed homes for Torus.

100%

  of commercial profits are reinvested as a dividend to support social outcomes



£2m

  gift aided to Torus Foundation
(2017/18: £2.0m)



HMS also created these new homes for Torus:



Ogdens Clock Tower
19 homes for affordable rent

Winner - Affordable Housing Scheme of the Year, Northern Housing Awards

Highly commended - North West Regional Construction Awards

Ogdens Place
13 family homes for shared ownership

Leighton Dene
4 family homes for afforable rent

The commercial arm also includes Torus Commercial Services (TCS), which currently provides construction, repair and maintenance solutions for external clients. TCS will become part of HMS in 2019/20.

Value for Money

We are committed to providing value for money across everything we do.

We aim to work efficiently and effecively in everything we do. The better our value for money, the more we can invest and the more we can improve services.

Our new Corporate Plan sets our vision to become even more efficient over the next five years.

We are transforming the business with a focus on:

  • Launching integrated IT platforms
  • Digital self-service - providing 24/7 customer service
  • Integrating our teams
  • Reviewing how we purchase goods and services
  • Commercial growth through HMS and Torus Developments
  • Investing the money we save into homes and communities

In total, we aim to achieve  

£14.2m

  in savings by 2021/22.

Read our 2019 - 2024 Corporate Plan

Read our full financial statements for 2018/19

Have your say

If you have any thoughts or comments
about our annual report, let us know:

Email communications@torus.co.uk
or join Torus Talk on Facebook

Even if you're short on time, you can help us improve what we do and how we do it. Join our Facebook group Torus Talk and become part of our online community of involved customers.

Find out more:

Torus Talk

getinvolved@torus.co.uk