On the 19th and 20th March 2025, Convene attended the Housing Finance Conference set up by the NHF. We’d like to thank the NHF and all speakers and attendees for making it such an engaging and informative conference.

The conference was an opportunity to engage with “tailored content specifically for finance professionals in the social housing sector”, and focused on helping Housing associations understand how to build resilience in these uncertain times.

Running across eight different content streams, the conference’s sessions sought to tackle some of the sector’s most pressing issues and provide space for discussion and engagement. This includes topics such as:

• Business planning and risk management
• Investment and funding
• Finance 101
• Housing market
• Policy and regulation
• Innovation and digital stage
• Business transformation and leadership
• Stakeholder engagement

This year’s conference delivered insights into the key challenges, and solutions, faced by the social housing sector, in the midst of a difficult economic climate and a new government’s policies.

 

The first day of the conference began with a couple breakfast briefings, looking at sector credit outlook for 2025 and a practical guide to mergers and acquisitions.

Then, after the Chair’s opening remarks, there was a talk featuring an update on the economy, looking at headwinds, tailwinds and everything in between. This was followed by a talk about the funding model for the sector, and whether or not it is broken.

Then there was a talk on embracing digital intelligence to improve arrears management and support residents, and a series of breakout sessions.

The breakout sessions explored topics such as achieving strategic ambition through financial planning, transforming finances through AI, innovative sources of finance and navigating global risks. There were also talks on the role of planning in solving development jigsaw, tax and VAT, reimagining financial leadership and optimising lender-borrower relationships.

Then there was lunch, alongside a talk on devolution, a roundtable on what the sector needs from the spending review and a discussion on why public sector organisations can’t afford to ignore payment security and fraud prevention.

After this, there was a talk focusing on the AI-Powered Finance Team, and how it can cut costs and reduce risk. This was followed by another series of breakout sessions.

These breakout sessions included a roundtable on joint ventures and talks on a new approach to financial planning systems, funding retrofit, developing in the current market, maintaining sector viability, changes to Financial Reporting Standards, encouraging diversity in finance and connecting residents and finance.

Then there was a second set of breakout sessions, which covered topics including smart approaches to asset management, driving organisational transformation through data, new credit ratings, a valuations update, rent revolution, leading your finance team, and decarbonisation funding. There was also a fireside chat on the role of equity in a regulated sector.

This was followed by a talk on the future of finance and graduating from OpenAccounts, and a discussion on balancing trade-offs in business strategy. The final talk of the day was on social housing futurology, which looked at how AI tools can help today and proactively taking action.

 

The second day of the conference began with another set of breakfast briefings on recovering planning and the pathway to resilience, and enhancing your finance leadership skills for career success.

After a welcome from the Chair, there was the first talk of the day on what the new government means for the Housing sector’s finances. This was followed by an update from the regulator, which discussed how the sector is developing and the essential role of governance.

There was a talk on FRS 102 lease accounting requirements and how to get them done, and then some breakout sessions.

These breakout sessions looked at dynamic development appraisal, how data can reduce repairs spending, the potential of international lenders for investment, tenure types in today’s social housing sector, a new performance benchmark Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs), risks and opportunities with pensions, and effectively working with your board.

This covered the pressures Boards are facing and the need for insight over detail. Arturo Dell, who attended the conference as a representative of Convene, noted that “in order for Boards not to dive into the detail of the reports, there needs to be trust built up through time and experience of success”. There was also a case study on how to attract and retain the best talent.

After lunch there was another series of breakout sessions including discussions of strategic asset management, strengthening financial resilience through a legal thread, an update on the new Affordable Homes Programme, putting investment in existing homes at the centre of budgeting and financial planning, changes to ESG reporting and improving the quality of your financial regulatory returns. This established how ESG has stagnated in the sector but despite that it is not going away.

These were followed by a final talk on reshaping the sector, and the impacts of consolidation, for-profits and institutional investment on social housing.

We’d like to thank again the NHF and all attendees for making this such an insightful conference, focusing on the all too important role of finance and financial professionals in the social housing sector.

If you’d like to know more about how Convene can help your Housing association achieve good governance, join our GRC network today.