We're very pleased to share that we have maintained our ‘A+’ rating in a review announced by the agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P).
S&P affirmed the rating with a stable outlook, stating it was underpinned by RHP’s “…focus on low-risk traditional housing activities, its very strong market dependencies, and its highly experienced management team.”
In their announcement S&P noted: “Increased investment to improve the energy efficiency of its existing stock will weaken profitability during the forecast period. This will be offset by the group's excellent liquidity position and solid interest coverage. The stable outlook indicates that we expect RHP's management to deliver its investment and development plan as per our base case without putting undue pressure on credit metrics.”
S&P also affirmed an ‘A+' issue rating on the £275 million senior secured debt issued by our funding vehicle, RHP Finance PLC.
We're one of a few housing groups that hold a standalone credit rating of A+, which means we do not benefit from an uplift to their rating as a result of government support. This underlines our robust credit strength despite the current challenging environment.
Corinna Bishopp, Executive Director of Finance at RHP, said: “We’re really excited to receive this reaffirmation of our credit rating. Our focus in the last year was ensuring we supported our customers through truly unique and difficult times; however we also delivered a strong and consistent financial performance in 2020/21. We are confident of our ongoing financial and business resilience in the face of the current uncertainties and we’re delighted S&P have confirmed this view."
We plan to provide around 600 new homes by 2023 for social rent, Shared Ownership and the intermediate market within their operating area of South West London.
View the full credit rating report here