We must all by now have become accustomed to grand announcements from the government about the importance of house building and the economic benefits that flow from this activity. Indeed, new loan assurances have now been issued to improve access to the housing market in a bid to ensure access...

In the post grant world of housing development that will commence next year, local authorities are being encouraged to use their access to cheap money on the back of the central government rating.

This is ok but there are certain dangers.

When small regional banks in Spain borrowed independently on...

I am a child of the welfare state. It has been with me all of my life and I consider it is one of our society's greatest achievements. But my admiration ended when it became clear that it now stands as a guarantor to the exploitation of the working classes....

Under the veil of alleviating hardship, our government is preparing to implement a tax that will hit the weakest in our society. Disabled people who need a bedroom for their carer will soon face a massive cut to their housing benefit. The con is that there is help at hand....

It's January: traditionally the time for festive hangovers, bleak weather and - this time around - bleak economic forecasts. So what is the good news? I'll tell you...

It is no secret that banks have ceased lending. As a consequence construction sites lie empty while builder kick their heels waiting...

Since our government is so keen on capping things, I propose a cap that is fair, sustainable and one which could solve Britain's housing crisis.

Despite knowing some of what was to come, I listened with horror and disbelief as the Chancellor presented his Autumn statement to the nation. For...

Today's news that the Conservative Party is seeking to resurrect Right to Buy (R2B) illustrates that party's inability to see beyond the type of myopic asset-stripping we've become used to.

With the likelihood of private investment in house building under the Conservatives' watch resembling anything...

Some time ago I wrote a blog under the headline: "The baby on the parish steps". At the time of writing I knew that I would shortly be penning this piece.

In that article I highlighted my concerns that future funding for supported accommodation would be separated...

Having spent the past few weeks presenting our financial model to the investment community, with yet more meetings to come, I have become well versed in explaining not only that the investment is well constructed and the risks properly managed, but that the return is commiserate with the size of...

Last week, my co-director Juliette Tarrant reminded me that it has been a year since we embarked on our mission to deliver the first social housing real estate investment trust (REIT) to provide new affordable social housing, extra care and supported accommodation.

It has been a...

As we begin to implement our Real Estate Investment Trust which will bring private and institutional investment to the affordable and specialist housing market, my attention was drawn to a housing report, commissioned by the government from the chairman of the 3i investment group.

Sir Adrian Montague's report...

Over the course of my time in business I have, from time to time, helped turn a failing business around. It is both an interesting and challenging process that demands commitment and dedication to devise and implement a recovery plan.

So when the Office for National Statistics released its...

Last week my co-director Juliette Tarrant and I met with members of London's finance community in preparation for the market launch of our social housing REIT. It was a mixed bag of people who were enthusiastic and positive about what we are aiming to achieve, and...

Dickens wrote about the workhouse and of foundlings; children literally left on steps of the parish, their parents unable or unwilling to look after them. They were left to the care of the local authorities, the Poor Law and the workhouse. These were dark days for the poor, with any...

My colleague Juliette Tarrant just won't take no for an answer. We have been waiting for some time for the outcome of the housing benefit review for supported housing. When we asked the DWP for a date when this would be published we were informed that there was...

The Department of Health guidance on fair access to care services is titled "prioritizing need in the context of putting people first". Ironically my colleagues at the disabled self-advocacy charity York People First viewed the subsequent consultation issued by their Local Council as about money and not people....

Today I'll get straight to the point. The British public needs to fall out of love with housing as an investment and start looking at their homes as being a place to live. Pretty strange thing for someone launching one of the first social and special needs housing Real Estate...

In the early 1990s social and healthcare was 'revolutionised' following the publication of the Griffiths Report. In its wake, legislation introduced the complexities of market place into health and social care operations - extending activities into the internal workings of Health and Local Authority. It introduced the purchaser...

As our economy and society bump along just about avoiding the feared "double dip" amidst the spectre of societal meltdown we celebrate growth figures of 0.3% and trumpet new ideas with little evidence of actual progress against the constant backdrop of reminders about our current financial predicament.

We are...

Last week I found myself speaking out against the government's Big Society Capital launch. Not because I wish to stand in the way of new funding mechanisms but because I know from experience what it takes to make a charity a viable, investable prospect.

Since the turn...