VIVID announces another successful year in delivering more homes, bright futures for its customers

VIVID has reported another year of strong performance during 2019/20. The organisation’s continued growth and financial strength has meant it’s been able to deliver brighter futures for its customers and local communities, by providing more homes to more people, increasing the investment in its current homes and allocating extra funds to help the most vulnerable during challenging times.

In its Annual Review and Financial Statements 2019/20, the WhatHouse? Awards Housing Association of the Year 2019, demonstrates its success in providing a safe and secure home for its customers. Some notable achievements include providing 2,888 more people with a place to call home, securing income for 2,605 customers, helping residents access £5.9m of unclaimed benefits and supporting 265 people back into work.

VIVID has also upped the ante in its development programme, building 1,372 new homes in the year to address the housing shortage in the area – a 37% increase from the year before. As a Homes England Strategic Partner, VIVID’s strong performance in home delivery during the year led Homes England to increase the organisation’s funding from £88m to £176m. The acquisition of private developer Bargate Homes last year has also proved successful as VIVID has furthered its ability to lead on land led development opportunities. It now has control over enough land and development sites to deliver 10,000 new homes, helping to make a real contribution to the housing supply in the south.

Mark Perry, Chief Executive of VIVID, said “We believe having a safe and secure home is vital to everyone’s wellbeing and chances in life. That’s why I feel proud that despite the turbulent political and economic environment, we’ve able to use our strength to best enable brighter futures for our customers and local communities.

“Our continued financial strength has enabled us to be agile, making quick decisions to support the most vulnerable during tough times. And, no time has been more challenging than the COVID-19 outbreak. I’m pleased we were able to help those most impacted in our communities. This included providing £250k extra funds to community groups and foodbanks, working with our local authority partners to provide over 60 homes for rough sleepers, and 400 free tablets with built in sim cards to help people stay connected.  But we know the aftershock of the pandemic will be felt by the economy and society for many years to come and housing associations will be needed more than ever. So, we’ll work even harder to extend our support services, increase our community investment activities and build more homes so we can deliver bright futures for our customers and communities.”

Other achievements throughout 2019/20 include:

• Investing £52.7m in existing homes to ensure they’re well maintained. This includes 601 kitchens and 281 bathrooms replacements.
• Creating strong partnerships to maximise the support provided to customers and communities. Including working with charity Two Saints to help tackle homelessness, and the Solent NHS Trust to identify an alleviate customer’s mental health issues.
• Securing £176m of funding as part of Homes England Strategic Partnership.