Places for People

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Places for People (PfP) is a property management, development, regeneration company and leisure company based in the UK.^[1]

PfP is made of over 20 companies, has assets in excess of £3 billion, and manages more than 182,500 homes.

History[]

PfP was founded as North British Housing Association in 1965. Bristol Churches Housing Association joined the group in 1999, and the name was changed to Places for People Group Ltd on 1 June 2000.^[2]

Group companies[]

Places for People is made of over 20 companies including:

• Places for People Homes, the Group's property management arm responsible for 48000 of the Group's homes across England and Wales
• Places for People Developments is behind a number of award-winning developments and long-term regeneration projects involving masterplanning and community consultation;
• Places for People Living+ (formerly Individual Support) is a care and support specialist which provides housing and support to older people, those with a disability or mental health problem, women escaping domestic abuse and homeless people; includes Kush, black and minority ethnic specialist in London;
• Places for People Neighbourhoods supports the long term sustainability of PfP neighbourhoods by pursuing a strategy to bring lasting social benefits. PfP neighbourhoods focusses on key areas of economic development, green spaces, financial inclusion and young people
• Places for People Financial Services which offers mortgages, affordable loans, home contents insurance and budget advice;

Other Group companies include:

• Places for People Capital Markets
• Places for People Landscapes
• Places for People Green Services
• Places for People International
• Cotman Housing Association
• Castle Rock Edinvar
• Touchstone
• Places for People Leisure
• Girlings Retirement Rentals
• Allenbuild
• ZeroC
• Residential Management Group (RMG)
• Places for People Scotland
• Places for People Scotland Care and Support^[3]

Procurement Hub, a public procurement consortium, is also part of Places for People.^[4]

Finances[]

Housing groups borrow money to pay for new homes and improvements. Like some other large groups, PfP raises money from investors by issuing corporate bonds in its own name.^[5]

As the late-2000s financial crisis progressed, first-time buyers had difficulty in obtaining bank mortgages. PfP was the first housing group to respond by providing mortgages for shared ownership or 100% buyers on its own developments.^[6]

In April 2008 PfP launched the Ownhome equity loan scheme in partnership with the Co-operative Bank. This was aimed at enabling first time buyers, key workers and occupants of social housing to purchase homes on the open market through a combination of a standard co-operative bank mortgage for between 60-80% of value with the balance funded via an equity loan from Places for People. The scheme ended in April 2010 when funding support for the equity loan was withdrawn by the government.

In 2010 the group recorded a £25 million impairment in the value of its assets, the largest write-down by a UK housing association up to that date.^[7]

PfP raised the social housing sector's first unsecured UK bond in May 2011.^[8]

Awards[]

PfP has won various awards. They won Landlord of the Year twice at Property Week's RESI awards, in 2012 and 2014.

References[]

External links[]

• Places for People website
• Latest inspection report by the Audit Commission, March 2010
• "Places for People Neighbourhoods, registered charity no. 505813". Charity Commission for England and Wales. (charitable subsidiary)