Clare Miller to step down as Clarion CEO next summer

Clare Miller will step down from her role as chief executive of Clarion Housing Group next summer.

The £1.1bn-turnover housing association yesterday announced Miller’s retirement and said its board will now begin a process to appoint a successor.

Miller has been chief executive of 109,000-home Clarion since she was appointed to the role on a permanent basis in September 2018, following a turbulent period in which her predecessor Ruth Cooke stepped down after just a few months in the hotseat.

Miller was previously group director of governance and compliance at the G15 landlord and carried out the same role at predecessor organisation Affinity Sutton before its merger with Circle to create Clarion in 2016.

On Miller’s watch Clarion has grown its annual turnover from nearly £800m to more than £1bn and built more than 14,000 homes.

It maintained annual development at around 2,200 homes in the early 2020s, but this dipped in recent years to around 1,400 due to building safety costs and delays, difficult market conditions and competing priorities such as the need to increase spend on improving existing homes. The group has however said it is on track to increase annual completions to 3,000 within the next three to four years.

Clarion said Miller has overseen the group generating more than £1bn in social value since 2016, along with publishing a sector-first ‘climate transition plan’ and launching a report called the Five New Giants of Opportunity, setting out the role housing can plan in strengthening communities.

Clarion has however faced criticism over conditions in some of its properties on Miller’s watch. In 2022 it featured in an ITV documentary which highlighted issues on its Eastfields estate in Merton. It was hit with a severe maladministration judgement by the Housing Ombudsman in April 2022 for failing to handle complaints adequately and was ordered to pay £2,300 in compensation. In May the same year it was hit with a second judgement, prompting the ombudsman to investigate if there are systemic failings at the landlord. Neither the ombudsman nor the Regulator of Social Housing found systemic failure at the association.

In 2024, Miller in an exclusive interview with Housing Today set out a longer-term plan to transform Clarion to make improvements in “key priority areas” including improving handling of customer enquiries, housing people more quickly and ensuring frontline workers are more visible.

Miller is also the vice-chair of the G15 group of housing associations in London and would ordinarily have stepped up to the chair role by convention next summer.

Jock Lennox, group chair of Clarion Housing Group, said: “Clare has made an exceptional contribution to Clarion and to social housing over many years. She has led the group with integrity, determination and a deep commitment to our social purpose, always focused on doing the right thing for residents and ensuring Clarion remains strong for the long term.

“On behalf of the board, I want to thank Clare for everything she has given to Clarion. She will leave the organisation with strong foundations, a clear sense of purpose and a strong and committed executive team who will continue to deliver for residents, partners and investors.

“Our focus now is on finding the right person to continue the delivery of our strategy. Clare will remain fully engaged as group chief executive while that process takes place and will work closely with the board and her successor to ensure a smooth and orderly transition.”

Miller said: “Clarion has a unique responsibility because of its scale, but also a unique opportunity to show what housing can do for people and communities. We have built a strong and resilient organisation, remained true to our social purpose and continued to invest for the long term, even through some exceptionally challenging years.

“This is the right time to begin planning for the next chapter. There is still much I want us to accomplish before I retire next summer, and I remain fully committed to leading the organisation and supporting my successor through the transition. I know that Clarion’s purpose, its people and its ambition will continue to drive the organisation forward for many years to come.”