REG - Wheatley Grp Cap - Research Update

S&P GlobalAnnouncement

20/05/2024 17:45

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240520:nRST1613Pa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 1613P  Wheatley Group Capital PLC  20 May 2024

20 May, 2024

Wheatley Housing Group retains its A+ (stable outlook) rating by S&P
Global Ratings

Wheatley Housing Group - Scotland's leading housing, care and
property-management organisation - said on Monday (20 May, 2024) it has
retained its A+ (stable outlook) rating from S&P Global Ratings
(S&P).

Core entities, Wheatley Group Capital PLC and Wheatley Homes Glasgow, also
retained A+ (stable outlook) ratings.

The Group, which owns and manages over 93,700 homes in 19 local authority
areas in Scotland, had its annual review carried out by S&P in April this
year.

This involved detailed analysis of the Group's business and financial
performance, progress with its new-build programme, delivery of the investment
into existing homes and the evolving Scottish policy and regulatory context.

Strong management, focus on traditional social housing activities and
flexibility of plans enabled the Group to navigate the challenging economic
operating environment over the last year resulting in the retention of the A+
rating.

The research update highlighted a "strong demand for Wheatley's properties"
and "strong affordability levels" with a focus on core activities such as
providing affordable homes.

The "solid quality of the Group's existing assets" references the Group's
ambitious investment programme, with S&P noting the energy performance of
homes as "more favourable than sector peers" with almost 92% of homes meeting
Band C or above by EPC rating.

As well as the Group retaining its rating, S&P also announced Lowther,
which provides Wheatley's mid-market homes and property-management services,
had retained its 'A' rating.

Pauline Turnock, Wheatley Group Director of Finance, said: "Today's
announcement by S&P serves as further evidence of Wheatley's position as
one of the highest rated and best performing housing groups in the UK.

"The past year has been extremely challenging for the sector, and this credit
rating demonstrates confidence in our strong financial performance and our
ability to navigate uncertainty caused by broader political events.

"Importantly, it also acknowledges the exceptional efforts of our staff in
providing high levels of customer service and their contributions to
supporting our communities across Scotland."

Ends

For more information, contact:

Stuart Darroch

Director of Communications and Marketing

07799 071 734

stuart.darroch@wheatley-group.com

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  RESUROVRSAUVUAR