This meeting will include reports on the financial and operational performance of three Westminster Council-owned companies: Westminster Community Homes, Westminster Builds and Westco. The committee will also receive a report on the operational activities of Westminster Community Homes during 2023.

Westminster Community Homes

The committee will be asked to note the appointment of shareholders to Westminster Community Homes, and to note the signing of the company's year-end statutory accounts for 2023-24.

The company’s accounts show a deficit of £1.795m, which it attributes to a number of factors including increased expenditure on service charges and building materials. The report notes that:

Due to the cost-of-living crisis in 2023/24, service charges and utility bills, (namely electric and gas) increased dramatically which led to an unforeseen increase in expenditure.

The accounts also show that the average cost of repairs rose to £255 in 2023-24 from £157 in 2022-23, an increase that the company says was caused by a combination of increased demand and higher material costs.

The committee will also be asked to note and comment on the company’s performance on a range of service measures up to September 2024.

The report describes progress on a number of the company's housing projects. This includes the MOT Yard development, a plan to build 36 new homes at 581-587 Harrow Road, which will be funded with a £3.6m loan from Westminster Council and a £4m grant from the Greater London Authority.

The committee will also hear about the progress of the company's plans to acquire homes at Victoria Wharf, Church Street and the Ebury Bridge Estate.

The report concludes by noting an audit by the Greater London Authority which gave the company an overall rating of “Good” for compliance, but which highlighted concerns about the company’s use of two properties as temporary accommodation for homeless families, in apparent contravention of the terms of a grant from the GLA.

Westminster Builds

The committee will be asked to note the company’s accounts for the 2023-24 financial year, and a report on the first half of the 2024-25 financial year.

The report describes the work of the company, which was set up by Westminster Council in 2018 to help increase the supply of affordable housing in the borough. It manages 101 homes let at intermediate rent which it has acquired from other developers, including 71 from the council itself.

The company is wholly owned by the council, and has received a combination of shareholder loans, development and acquisition finance and a working capital loan.

The company’s accounts show an operating profit of £0.437m for 2023-24 and a profit of £0.277m for the first six months of 2024-25.

The report describes the company’s work to improve its financial position, including a review of the role of one of its subsidiaries, Westminster Housing Developments Ltd in the delivery of the second phase of a development at Ebury Bridge. The company also plans to create a new for-profit registered provider of social housing in order to maximise its eligibility for grants.

The report concludes that the company is financially viable and a going concern, and that it is on track to meet its target of managing 108 intermediate rent homes by the end of the current financial year.

Westco

The committee will be asked to consider the financial and operational performance of Westco, another council-owned company, in the first half of the 2024/25 financial year.