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Earlier this week, we were proud to join JCB to celebrate their 80th anniversary in Uttoxeter. Chairman Lord Bamford marked the occasion by unveiling a blue heritage plaque on the High Street, commemorating the site of the original garage where JCB’s journey began. Today, that very spot is home to one of our affordable housing schemes, providing high-quality homes and vital services to the local community. Reflecting on this milestone, Lord Bamford said: "I’m delighted that in a small way we can highlight where it all began and reflect on the continuing importance of our home county of Staffordshire.”
Two weeks ago, we hosted our Big Get Together and for the first time our tenants joined us to share their insights and experiences with colleagues from across the organisation. Today we continued the conversation with a 'Tenant Takeover', a live Q&A session that gave colleagues the chance to hear directly from tenants in real time. This is all part of our ongoing commitment to listening, learning, and working with our tenants to shape better services. #TenantsatHeart #tenantengagement
Today we’re publishing our latest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report for the period 2024-25. With a strong emphasis on tenant-led sustainability, we’ve significantly enhanced the energy efficiency of our 34,000-home portfolio, achieving a minimum EPC rating of D across all of our homes, with nearly 80% now rated EPC C or above, five years ahead of government targets. We’ve also made a significant contribution to our region’s neighbourhoods and delivered a record 813 new homes in the last year. As one of our tenants recently told us, “It’s clear that for Midland Heart ESG isn’t just a corporate issue, it’s a commitment to doing right by the people and spaces that matter most.” Visit our ESG microsite to see this year’s performance highlights.
We’re still on a high from Friday’s Big Get Together, our staff conference that brought together colleagues from across the organisation and for the first time, welcomed our tenants. We were also thrilled to welcome some very special guests. Prof. Carl Chinn MBE shared the fascinating story of Midland Heart and the history of housing in Birmingham. Comedian, actress and writer Meera Syal returned to the region she grew up in to host the day and lead a workshop alongside our Chief Executive, Glenn Harris. We were also joined by esteemed Maître d’ Fred Sirieix for a fireside chat exploring what it truly means to deliver exceptional service! The day was filled with activities focused on the #MHMindset, the culture that shapes who we are and how we work. A standout moment was the tenant-led workshop, which encouraged us to reflect on our collective role in shaping the tenant experience, inspiring a sense of shared responsibility across all roles. We also hosted a live podcast and Q&A with our Executive Team, giving colleagues the chance to ask questions and explore our priorities for the future. It was truly a day to remember and enjoyed by everyone who took part. But don’t just take our word for it! Take a look at some of photo highlights!
We are pleased to announce that we are now accredited by leading tenant engagement experts, Tpas England. Over the past three years, we’ve deepened our collaboration with tenants, involving them in key decisions and co-designing our corporate strategy around their insights and expectations. We’re thrilled this engagement with our tenants, and the hard work of our teams, has been recognised by the Tenant Participation Advisory Service.
Last week we marked very a special occasion as we gathered to celebrate the incredible dedication and hard work of our long-serving colleagues at this year's Midland Heart Long Service Awards. The celebration event saw 54 colleagues coming together for a three-course lunch and each were presented with a special certificate to commemorate their milestones of 10, 15, 20 and even 25 years of service - totalling an amazing 745 years. Huge congratulations to everyone! Pictured are just some of our long serving colleagues at the Birmingham event.
We've just secured £49.9 million in funding from Homes England to support the delivery of an additional 480 affordable homes. This brings the total value of our Strategic Partnership programme to over £170 million, which will enable the development and delivery of 2,292 homes. The new homes will be predominantly for social rent, and delivered across the Midlands, helping to meet the growing demand for good quality, affordable housing in the region.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, visited one of our neighbourhoods to meet Baljit, a recent recruit to our Neighbourhood Services Team. During the visit, Bal and Richard had a great conversation about the vital role our Neighbourhood Rangers play in keeping communities clean and safe for tenants. They also discussed the value of working with local partners like Niyaa People, whose support helps us bring in passionate team members who truly understand the communities we serve. Watch Bal's story.
We’re publishing another robust set of financial and operational results for the period 2024/25. This year’s highlights include investing £108m in building new homes for tenants and £35m in improving our existing homes. We have completed over 2,000 kitchen and bathroom upgrades and replaced around 670 windows and 260 roofs, enhancing the warmth, comfort, and energy efficiency of these homes. The results come shortly after the launch of our new corporate plan, Tenants at Heart, which sets out our ambition to deliver more affordable homes across the region and invest £60 million per year to improve the quality of our oldest homes, making them fit for modern living. Take a look at our 2024/25 financial results.
We’re delighted to have secured a 10-year, sustainability-linked £100m loan funding from NatWest. The funding will play a key part in financing the delivery of thousands of new social homes and retrofits as part of Tenants at Heart, our corporate plan which takes us to 2030. Joe Reeves, Deputy Chief Executive and Board Member, said: "This funding helps us to have a real and lasting impact - achieving our ambitions for lower carbon output and reducing fuel bills for tenants. We are grateful to the teams who worked on this transaction, including Natalie Singh and Jasna Djurisic from Trowers & Hamlins, and Imran Mubeen at Newbridge."
