Provider with ‘serious weaknesses’ is reliant on disposals and cost reductions to maintain viability, says regulator
GreenSquareAccord (GSA) has been found non-complaint with the Regulator of Social Housing’s (RSH) governance and financial viability standard.
The 25,000-home provider, in a judgement yesterday was downgraded to G3 for governance and V3 for viability. The provider was found to have “serious weaknesses in its financial governance, risk management, quality of information and internal controls.”
GSA has commissioned reviews and established improvement programmes but RSH, which has been investigating GSA since May, found insufficient evidence there has been substantial improvement.
The judgement said: “During our investigation we confirmed that GSA has a history of weak financial performance, including repeated failures to meet its budgeted targets, financial losses, weak interest cover and poor forecasting accuracy.
“Performance deteriorated materially during the year ended 31 March 2026, despite the board approving mitigation measures.”
RSH said the provider’s business plan relies heavily on the disposal of social homes to maintain cashflow, support liquidity and deliver long-term financial sustainability.
It said: “Maintaining viability is now dependent on the delivery of a financial plan that will result in a decrease in the number of social homes GSA provides.
“GSA’s ability to meet non-discretionary costs from operating income in the long term is dependent on significant cost savings and transformation programmes that are not yet fully developed, evidenced or delivered. In combination, we conclude this reflects a failure to manage resources effectively. RSH said the providers.”
GSA has not breached covenants but its compliance is maintained by a strategy that depends on high levels of asset sales and future savings.
It said: “Given GSA’s track record of weak financial performance and failures to deliver its budgets, we do not have sufficient assurance that the improvements in performance assumed in the financial plan are deliverable.” It added it does not have assurance GSA has the financial capacity to withstand a range of adverse scenarios without taking action that could negatively impact its social housing assets.
The RSH investigation also found significant weaknesses in the quality of GSA’s information, systems and internal controls. It said challenges with integration remain more than five years on from the merger of Greensquare and Accord in 2021.
Ruth Cooke, chief executive of GSA, said the provider was “disappointed” by the outcome but fully accepts the findings.
She said: “We have already made progress in strengthening governance, financial oversight and decision-making across the organisation, and we have a clear plan in place to deliver further improvements. We remain committed to working closely with the Regulator and demonstrating sustained progress over time.
“I want to reassure our customers that this judgement is not about the safety of their homes and does not change our commitment to providing safe, quality homes and services. We will continue to invest in our homes, meet our safety responsibilities and support our customers and communities.”
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