Decision

Previous regulatory judgement: Selwood Housing Society Limited (29 March 2023)

Updated 13 December 2023

Applies to England

RSH Narrative Regulatory Judgement

• Provider: Selwood Housing Society Limited

• Regulatory code: LH4097

• Publication date: 29 March 2023

• Governance grade: G1

• Viability grade: V2

• Reason for publication: Changed basis for viability grade

• Regulatory route: In Depth Assessment

Regulatory judgement

This regulatory judgement confirms the regulator’s existing G1/V2 assessment of Selwood Housing Society Limited’s governance and viability, following completion of an In Depth Assessment (IDA).

The regulator has assurance that Selwood Housing Society Limited (Selwood) is compliant with the financial viability elements of the Governance and Viability Standard and that its financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. Selwood has an adequately funded business plan, sufficient security, and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants.

Selwood is increasing planned investment in its existing homes, including fire safety and energy efficiency work. It is also undertaking a business transformation programme, which is intended to achieve future operational and financial efficiencies. These additional costs, together with higher inflation and interest rate pressures, mean that Selwood’s underlying interest cover position has weakened and this impacts on its capacity to manage adverse events.

The regulator’s assessment of Selwood’s compliance with the governance elements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard remains unchanged. Based on the evidence gained from the IDA, the regulator has assurance that Selwood’s governance arrangements enable it to adequately control the organisation and to continue meeting its objectives.

Other providers included in the judgement

None

About the provider

Origins

Selwood is a charitable company. It was formed in 1989 to acquire stock from West Wiltshire District Council.

Registered Entities

Selwood is the only registered entity in the group.

Unregistered Entities

Within the group there are three subsidiaries:

• Selwood Devco Ltd, which provides photovoltaic panels; and
• Cottsbury Homes Ltd, and Silcoa Ltd, both of which are currently dormant.

Geographic Spread and Scale

Selwood owns and manages around 7,000 mainly general needs homes and operates in three local authority areas: Wiltshire, Mendip and Bath & North East Somerset.

Staffing and Turnover

Selwood has 341 full-time equivalent employees. It reported a turnover of £44m for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Development

Selwood aims to deliver 1,000 homes by 2027, comprising a mix of social and affordable rent and low cost home ownership units.

About our judgements

Key to Grades

Governance:

	Compliant
G1	The provider meets our governance requirements.
G2	The provider meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance.

	Non-compliant
G3	The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the provider is working to improve its position.
G4	The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.

Viability:

	Compliant
V1	The provider meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.
V2	The provider meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.

	Non-compliant
V3	The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and, in agreement with us, the provider is working to improve its position.
V4	The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.

Note: The use of an asterisk (*) against a grade indicates that the assessment refers to a provider that is designated as being for-profit.

Definitions of Regulatory Routes

In Depth Assessment (IDA): An IDA is a bespoke assessment of a provider’s viability and governance, including its approach to value for money. It involves on-site work and considers in detail a provider’s ability to meet its financial obligations and the effectiveness of its governance structures and processes.

Stability Checks: Based primarily on information supplied through regulatory returns, a Stability Check is an annual review of a provider’s financial position and its latest business plan. The review is focused on determining if there is evidence to indicate a provider’s current judgements merit reconsideration.

Reactive Engagement: Reactive engagement is unplanned work which is triggered by new information or a developing situation which may have implications for a provider’s current regulatory judgement.

Stability Checks and Reactive Engagement: In some cases, we will publish narrative regulatory judgements which combine evidence gained from both Stability Checks and Reactive Engagement.

For further details about these processes, please see Regulating the Standards.