Decision

Current regulatory judgement: Paragon Asra Housing Limited (29 November 2023)

Updated 29 November 2023

Applies to England

RSH Narrative Regulatory Judgement

• Provider: Paragon Asra Housing Limited
• Regulatory code: 4849
• Publication date: 29 November 2023
• Governance grade: G1
• Viability grade: V2
• Reason for publication: Changed basis for viability grade
• Regulatory route: Stability Check

Regulatory judgement

This regulatory judgement confirms the regulator’s existing published assessment of Paragon Asra Housing Limited’s governance and financial viability grades (G1/V2).

The regulator has assurance that Paragon Asra Housing Limited (Paragon Asra) continues to comply with the financial viability elements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and that its financial plans are consistent with, and support, its financial strategy. Paragon Asra has an adequately funded business plan with sufficient security in place and is forecast to continue to meet its financial covenants.

Paragon Asra is increasing investment in its existing homes, including a programme of expenditure on remedial fire safety works, in addition to a committed programme of development that includes units for sale. Delivering this investment weakens its financial performance and, set in the context of current economic pressures including inflation and interest rates, impacts on Paragon Asra’s capacity to respond to adverse events.

The regulator’s assessment of Paragon Asra’s compliance with the governance elements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard remains unchanged. On the basis of the Stability Check, the regulator has concluded that there is no evidence to indicate a change to Paragon Asra’s current governance grading.

Other providers included in the judgement

None

About the provider

Origins

Paragon Asra is a charitable community benefit society and the registered parent of the group. It provides mostly general needs homes, with a small number of supported and shared ownership properties.

Registered Entities

Paragon Asra is the only registered entity in the group.

Unregistered Entities

There are three unregistered entities in the group. Asra Construction Services Limited, and Paragon Development and Construction Services Limited are development companies that provide design and build services for Paragon Asra. Paragon Treasury Plc, is a treasury vehicle established with the purpose of issuing a bond.

Geographic Spread and Scale

Paragon Asra owns and manages around 24,000 homes in London, Surrey, and the Midlands.

Staffing and Turnover

Paragon Asra’s turnover for the year ended 31 March 2023 was £180.9m. It employs the full-time equivalent of 656 staff.

Development

Paragon Asra plans to develop 5,000 homes between 2020 and 2030. Around 4,850 units are already delivered or in the pipeline, including those to be delivered through Homes England and Greater London Authority strategic partnerships.

About our judgements

Key to Grades

Governance:

	Compliant
G1	The provider meets our governance requirements.
G2	The provider meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance.

	Non-compliant
G3	The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the provider is working to improve its position.
G4	The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.

Viability:

	Compliant
V1	The provider meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.
V2	The provider meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.

	Non-compliant
V3	The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and, in agreement with us, the provider is working to improve its position.
V4	The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.

Note: The use of an asterisk (*) against a grade indicates that the assessment refers to a provider that is designated as being for-profit.

Definitions of Regulatory Routes

In Depth Assessment (IDA): An IDA is a bespoke assessment of a provider’s viability and governance, including its approach to value for money. It involves on-site work and considers in detail a provider’s ability to meet its financial obligations and the effectiveness of its governance structures and processes.

Stability Checks: Based primarily on information supplied through regulatory returns, a Stability Check is an annual review of a provider’s financial position and its latest business plan. The review is focused on determining if there is evidence to indicate a provider’s current judgements merit reconsideration.

Reactive Engagement: Reactive engagement is unplanned work which is triggered by new information or a developing situation which may have implications for a provider’s current regulatory judgement.

Stability Checks and Reactive Engagement: In some cases, we will publish narrative regulatory judgements which combine evidence gained from both Stability Checks and Reactive Engagement.

For further details about these processes, please see Regulating the Standards.