Annual Report 2025/26
Welcome to the Ark Housing Annual Report 2025-2026 Making a Positive Difference by Empowering People and Communities
Contents Foreword Chair and
Chief Executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Annual Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Corporate Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Housing and Customer Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Homeless Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Community Investment . . . 12 Housing Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Assets and Capital Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Financial Performance . . . . . 20 Board and Committees . . . . 22 This report is available in a range of alternative formats including braille, large print, audiotape or digital as well as other languages. Please contact us, should you require further assistance.
Ballymacruise Drive, Millisle
2 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
3 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Foreword Chair and Chief Executive
and sustainable way. Our development programme reflects our commitment not only to increasing the number of homes but also to ensuring that they meet high standards of quality, accessibility, and environmental performance. This approach is critical as we respond to both immediate housing need and the longer-term challenge of decarbonisation. Financial resilience remains a key priority in an uncertain economic landscape. During the year, we have maintained a prudent and disciplined approach to financial management, carefully balancing investment in services and homes with the need to safeguard the organisation’s long-term viability. This has enabled us to continue delivering against our objectives while maintaining strong governance and financial oversight. None of this progress would be possible without the dedication and commitment of our people. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our staff, whose professionalism, care, and resilience continue to make a difference to the lives of our tenants every day. We also thank our Board members for their strategic leadership, robust scrutiny, and unwavering commitment to good governance during a demanding period. We are equally grateful to our partners and stakeholders, including local authorities, contractors, regulators, and community organisations. Their collaboration and support are essential in enabling us to deliver on our mission and to respond effectively to the evolving challenges facing the sector. Looking ahead, we recognise that uncertainty will continue, but so too will opportunity. Ark Housing remains well positioned to adapt, innovate, and grow, with a clear focus on quality, sustainability, and tenant outcomes. By staying true to our values and working together, we are confident that we will continue to provide safe, affordable homes and strong communities for years to come.
By staying true to our values and working together, we will continue to provide safe, affordable homes and strong communities for years to come.
Chair Tom Doran
Chief Executive Jim McShane
The past year has been one of continued challenge and opportunity for the housing sector. Across Northern Ireland, housing associations have faced sustained pressures arising from the cost of living crisis, inflationary impacts on construction and maintenance, increasing regulatory expectations, and the ongoing need to respond to climate and sustainability commitments. Demand for high-quality, affordable homes continues to rise, placing organisations such as Ark Housing Association at the very heart of delivering both social value and long-term stability for communities. Against this backdrop, Ark has remained focused on its core purpose: providing safe, affordable, and high-quality homes while supporting the wellbeing of our tenants. We have worked hard to strengthen our services, ensuring that tenants receive reliable, responsive, and person-centred support. This has included further investment in our housing management services, improvements to repairs and maintenance performance, and a continued emphasis on listening to tenant feedback to shape our priorities. We have also made important progress in advancing our strategic ambitions for growth. Despite a complex development environment, we have continued to identify opportunities to increase our housing supply in a responsible
Stakeholder Meeting for Tillie & Henderson Shared Housing Development, Abercorn Road
4 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026 5
Annual Highlights
Corporate Themes
Homes in Management
Service Excellence/Satisfied Customers Overall Repairs Performance 87 6% Occupancy Rate 98%
Leading Employer Staff Receive Learning and Development Employee Retention
100% 98%
27
327 Homes Currently Under Construction
Causeway Coast & Glens
62
911 Homes in Management
33
Mid & East Antrim
Derry & Strabane
Rent & Other Charges Collected Financial Assurance, Sustainability
Better Homes/Greater Diversity Carbon Monoxide Alarm Servicing
100%
99 3%
48
Belfast City
Antrim & Newtownabbey
Mid Ulster
9
Fire Alarm Servicing
295
97%
Ards & North Down
59
Fermanagh & Omagh
209
Lisburn & Castlereagh
74
Engaged Communities Scheme Meetings
Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon
78 16
Newry, Mourne & Down
Tenant Forum Meetings
95
£912K in Planned Maintenance and Component Replacements
64 New Homes Started on Site in 25/26
£8 46m Turnover in 25/26
1,238 Homes in Management or Under Construction
98% Employee Retention
100% Staff Learning and Development
100% Carbon Monoxide Alarm Servicing
97% Fire Alarm Servicing
78 Scheme Meetings
16 Tenant Forum Meetings
5,401 Response Repairs Ordered
87 6% Repairs Completed on Time
£34k on 19 Home Adaptions
Highest Possible Regulatory Rating of 1
98% Occupancy Rate
42 Staff
7 Shared Housing Developments
£36 3k Invested in Staff Training
77 5% Overall Tenant Satisfaction
87 6% Overall Repairs Performance
99 3% Rent and Other Charges Collected
6 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026 7
Housing and Customer Services Housing Stock by Type General Needs 759 Sheltered 75 Supported 52 Homeless 25 Grand Total 911 Average Rent Table No of Beds No of Homes Average Rent 1 230 £92.21 2 493 £117.97 3 160 £129.92 4 11 £140.30 Bedsit 17 £49.80 Grand Total 911 Rent Arrears Total arrears 9.7% Current tenant arrears 7.2% Former tenant arrears 1.7% Net current tenant arrears 1.5% Non-technical arrears 5.1%
Rents - Total Allocations Permanent Allocations 126 Temporary lets to our homeless family hostel 15 141
8% 17%
General Need 75% Sheltered 8% Supported 17%
75% General Need
Average re-let time 29 working days
Anti-Social Behaviour Cases 11 Closed 100% ASB Reported: Threatening behaviour
38% 31% 23%
Noise
Harassment & intimidation
Neighbour dispute
8%
Complaints
5
Formal complaints received Responded to on time Resolved at stage 1 Resolved at stage 2
100% 60% 40% 40% 60%
Complaint type: Customer Services
Repairs
Tenant Satisfaction Overall Satisfaction
77.5%
82.9%
Standard of Home
78.3% 81.2%
Repairs & Maintenance Keeping them informed on what matters Ark Services treats me fairly and with respect Ark contributes positively to their neighbourhood Ark’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour
86.2%
81.4%
69.6%
Scheme Walkabout at Conor House
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Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026 9
Homeless Services
Big Lunch at Moyard House
Belfast International Arts Festival Community Ticket Scheme
Case Study The Community Engagement Officer coordinated ongoing support with the Education Authority’s Intercultural Education Services, enabling 12 families (53 individuals) to access school placements, SEN assessments and in-school support. Examples include helping a Somali family register for school meals and uniforms and navigate the EA portal independently, and supporting a Traveller family to secure a school placement and SEN statement for their non-verbal child with ASD, so that their other child is now thriving with additional support in place.
Floating Support Service
Total number of clients moved on successfully Successfully completed a programme of support
205 183
Total Number of clients supported throughout the year
309
Unplanned
22
Breakdown of clients (Adults/children) Adults 430 Children 691
Move on reason
Successful outcome/ tenancy sustainment Allocated permanent Social Housing Took up PRS tenancy
110 34
2 5 8 2
Total no of High, Medium, Low cases throughout the year
Planned moves into Single Let
High
113
Internal transfers Planned moves into supported housing
Medium
105
Low
72 19
Referrals were ineligible or out of area but received initial support and were successfully signposted
21
Unknowns (didn’t engage)
Homeless Services visit to Windsor Stadium
10 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
11 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Community Investment
During 2025-2026
Community Pop-Up at Catherine Court
Mural Launch at Malone Mews
Shared Housing: During 2025/2026 our Shared Housing Programme continued to develop and deliver on our good relations plans across each of these developments. In addition to this, we partnered with Apex, Choice, Clanmil and Radius Housing Associations to commission a research report into ‘Creating Sustainable Communities’ which was launched at Stormont in May 2026.
Tenants Forum: Met 16 times this year and were involved in: • Planning and delivering annual tenant conference • Reviewing and approving the 26/27 tenant participation budget • Monitoring KPIs • Reviewing the tenant handbook alongside staff
Creating Sustainable Communities launch
183 Housing For All Programmes
7 Shared Housing Developments
£2 6m Total Budget
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13 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Housing Stock Overview
Ark’s Development programme continues to make significant progress, with sustained investment and delivery ensuring we remain on track towards achieving our ambitious 5 year strategic target of providing 1300 homes.
£69 6m On Site Investment
Homes Under Construction
17 Causeway Coast & Glens
181
Mid & East Antrim
Derry & Strabane
45
Belfast City
Antrim & Newtownabbey
Mid Ulster
27
Ards & North Down
Lisburn & Castlereagh 11
Fermanagh & Omagh
64 Homes Started On Site
8
Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon
Newry, Mourne & Down
38
38
Newry, Mourne and Down
8
Armagh City Banbridge and Craigavon
45 181
Mid Ulster
Derry & Strabane
17
Causeway Coast and Glens
27
Belfast City
11
Lisburn and Castlereagh
327
Total
44 Completions
1000
Growth of Ark Housing Association Stock
800
600
327 Homes Under Construction
400
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Donaghadee Road
Year
14 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
15
Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Housing Supply - Schemes Under Development
Tillie & Henderson • Flagship scheme - 131 apartments comprising 59 Category 1 units (including 6 wheelchair accessible homes) and 72 general needs units (including 8 wheelchair accessible homes). • This is a significant and exciting development, representing the largest scheme undertaken by the team to date. • The scheme will acknowledge the site’s heritage through a representation of the former shirt factory and the commissioning of a statue celebrating the contribution of its workers. • The current estimated completion date is March 2028
Ballygawley Road • 45 residential units comprising 8
Ballykelly • Development comprising 17 residential units, including 4 apartments, 12 houses, and 1 complex needs bungalow. • This is a high-quality scheme that has been thoughtfully designed, with the developer successfully delivering homes that complement and integrate well with the surrounding area. • Estimated completion date is October 2027
Granemore Road, Phase 2 • Phase 2 of a successful rural housing scheme. • Completion of the final 8 properties, bringing the total development to 21 homes. • Anticipated completion date is July 2027
apartments, 34 general needs homes, and 3 wheelchair accessible properties. • This is an innovative pilot scheme for Ark using modern methods of construction to deliver a passive housing development. • Incorporating a wide range of measures to minimise construction waste and reduce carbon emissions, including the use of Insulated Concrete Formwork (ICF). The scheme also features extensive wildflower planting to enhance biodiversity and minimise environmental impact. • The anticipated completion date is April 2027
16 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
17 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Assets and Capital Works Repairs Completed
Kitchen Replacements at Roseville House
Response repairs orders raised including voids 5,401 (a 18% increase on 2024/25)
Response Maintenance
• Routine – 88% • Urgent – 85% • Emergency – 89%
Stock investment
£912k Invested in Planned Maintenance and Component Replacements
Undertook Fire safety Improvements in 189 Homes
Solar Panel Installations on 16 Homes
Planned Kitchen Replacements in 25 Homes
Key Projects
Conor House Redecoration
Cumain House External Painting
Adaptations
£34k on 19 Home Adaptions
New safety features at Roseville playpark
Redecoration at Conor House
Redecoration at Conor House
18 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
19 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Financial Performance Ark Housing Association demonstrated strong financial performance for the year ended 31 March 2026 Key Financial Highlights • Surplus before pension items: Approx. £730K (£1.013 million in 2025) • Annual turnover: Increased by 5.63% to over £8.46 million (£8.0 million in 2025) • Property investment: Additional £17.7 million invested in fixed property assets, bringing total property assets to over £145.8 million (£128 million in 2025) • Homes in management: 911 homes (867 in 2025) • Homes under construction: 327 homes on site and under construction • Borrowings: Increased by £5.3 million to £37.9 million • Undrawn Revolving Credit Facility: £15 million • Total funds: Over £10.4 million
Income & Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 March 2026
2026
2025
£
£
Turnover
8,466,130 (6,389,821) 2,076,309
8,014,780
Operating costs Operating Surplus
(5,893,153)
2,121,627
22,215
Interest receivable and similar income Interest payable and similar charges
19,070
(1,486,653)
(1.153,539)
6,000
Other finance costs
6,000
112,000 729,871
Additional Pension Service Costs Surplus on ordinary activities
20,000 1,013,158 (26,000) 987,158
(118,000)
Actuarial (loss)/gain on pension scheme Total comprehensive income for the year
611,871
Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2026
2026
2025
Key Highlights
FIXED ASSETS
£
£
133,702,677
Housing properties - depreciated cost
117,678,045
March 2026
March 2025
746,783
Other tangible fixed assets
803,081
911 64 44
Number of Homes
867
134,449,460
118,481,126
New Homes Started on Site New Homes Completed New Homes Under Construction
74 53
CURRENT ASSETS Debtors
4,892,739
3,034,095 3,866,737 6,900,832
327
319
516,186
Cash at bank and in hand
42
Number of Staff
41
5,408,925
£8,466,130
Turnover
£8,014,780 £1,013,158 £14,795,704 £9,668,746
Creditors: (amounts falling due within one year) Net Current (Liabilities)/Assets Total Assets Less Current Liabilities
(10,552,773) (5,143,848) 129,305,612 (118,908,943)
(12,728,269) (5,827,436) 112,653,689 (102,836,871)
£729,871
Surplus on Ordinary Activities
£17,733,503 £12,011,679
Development Spend
Grants Received
CREDITORS: (amounts falling due after more than one year)
10,396,669
9,816,818
NET ASSETS
Capital and Reserves Called up share capital
10
10
The financial statements, prepared in accordance with FRS 102 and the Housing SORP 2018, demonstrate the Association’s continued growth and financial resilience. Significant investment in new and existing homes, alongside an expanding development programme, has strengthened Ark Housing Association’s asset base and increased the number of homes under management. The Association continues to maintain a strong financial position, supporting its long-term strategic objectives and commitment to providing high-quality social housing.
Capital reserve
46
43
Restricted reserves Revenue reserve
(4,055)
27,968
10,400,668 10,396,669
9,788,797 9,816,818
TOTAL FUNDS
20 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
21 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Board and Committees Board of Management and Advisors Mr Tom Doran (Chair) Mr Ian McAvoy (Vice-Chair) MS Nicole Mulholland (Retired 30 June 2025) Ms Deborah Reynolds (Retired 30 June 2025)
Ms Sara McClintock Mrs Denise McElrea Ms Catherine Blackbourne Mr Robert Hutchinson Ms Chi Ting Yip Mr Christopher Dickinson
Mr Robbie McNaugher (Appointed 2 June 2025) Mr Ciaran Andrews (Appointed 2 June 2025) Mr Ross White (Appointed 2 June) - Resigned 31 March 2026) Chief Executive & Company Secretary Mr James P McShane Registered Office Unit 1, Hawthorn Office Park, 43 Stockmans Way, Belfast BT9 7ET Registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 IP000306 Registered with the Department for Communities (NI) R50 Registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC104547 Solicitors Edwards & Co., 3rd Floor, Sessia House, 61-67 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2QH Independent Auditors RBCA Limited, Linenhall Exchange, 26 Linenhall Street, Belfast BT2 8BG Bankers Danske Bank, Donegall Square West, Belfast BT1 6JS
Board Away Day at Ravara Court
22 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
23 Ark Housing | Annual Report 2025–2026
Making a Positive Difference by Empowering People and Communities
Contact Us: 02890 752310
info@arkhousing.co.uk Ark Housing Association Unit 1, Hawthorn Office Park 43 Stockman’s Way Belfast BT9 7ET www.arkhousing.co.uk Facebook.com/arkhousing X.com/arkhousing Linkedin.com/arkhousingni
Scan here to visit the Ark Tenant’s Portal
Ark Housing Association Northern Ireland Limited is registered in N.I. with Industrial and Provident Society (IP000306), Department for Communities (DFC50) And Charity Commission of Northern Ireland (NIC 104547). Recognised as a charity by the Inland Revenue, Ref. NO. XR 38643 Registered under the Data
Protection Act 1984 Reg. No. 24869009
Granemore Road
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