Profits jump at council’s housing company, report shows

Profits at a council-owned housing company have grown by 18 per cent in the last year, a report to a meeting revealed.

Draft accounts for Nuplace have been shown to a Telford & Wrekin Council committee in advance of the official audit and sign off of the work of the company.

Nuplace has been given £93 million of investments from the council since it was launched 10 years ago. In that time it has created 608 homes, with a further 276 planned or in delivery.

A meeting of the business and finance scrutiny committee on June 25, 2025 was told that the draft accounts show “strong performance for the year.”

Profit, before interest and taxation, increased in year to £3.2m from £2.71m -in 2023/24, with gross profit after interest and before tax of £448,000.

That headline increase of 18 per cent is based on turnover from rental income from a growing number of properties, increasing nearly 22 per cent to £5m in 2024/25 from £4.1m in 2023/24.

The profits led to the council receiving a £302,000 dividend at the financial year end. It has put this money into the burgeoning budgets for social care services. The balance of the profits has been kept by Nuplace to go towards future maintenance.

Councillor Richard Overton (Labour, St George’s) the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for highways, housing & enforcement said creating Nuplace in 2015 had been a ‘bold decision’.

It was done, he said, to “try to improve the private rented market and offer a good quality tenure.” Nuplace has also provided the council, which is the sole shareholder, with a dividend.

Councillors welcomed the a report into the work that Nuplace is doing in the housing sector.

Conservative councillor Rachael Tyrrell (Priorslee) said that while she was supportive of the provision of homes, she does not believe it should be promoted as a financial success compared to the private sector.

“I don’t think we could treat is as an investment,” she said. “The rental yield is well below par.”

She pointed to the council receiving £300,000 as an dividend on an investment of £93million.

But council officers said the property portfolio has seen capital growth of £30 million.

“It’s not just about financials, the council is providing a good quality offer and affordable housing,” the meeting heard.

Councillor Overton compared Telford & Wrekin’s investments to those of neighbouring Shropshire Council.

“We receive benefits from Nuplace and investments in front line services,” he said. “In Shropshire they invested in shopping centres.

“People want to live in Nuplace homes and they can live there for as long as they want those homes.”

Councillor Giles Luter (Labour, Ercall) praised the work being carried out at the former YMCA building in Wellington town centre which is providing Nuplace homes.

“The work has been top quality,” he said. “In other areas they just lose those types of buildings.”

He added that he sees the work Nuplace is doing as “really positive” and “exciting” and it can “only expand to become more important for the borough.”

Councillor Nathan England (Labour, The Nedge) said the council also benefits from more people living in local homes and paying council tax.