Affordable Home Ownership Conference 2014

One day conferenceWednesday 21 May 2014 British Library Conference Centre, London

Conference guide

Dear Delegate,

On behalf of the National Housing Federation, I would like to welcome you to the Affordable Home Ownership Conference.

The programme has been designed to offer you the chance to interact with fellow professionals and gain from their knowledge, so I hope you will take the opportunity to exchange ideas with your peers. To get maximum value from the day, please read the ‘Participation and Interactivity’ section in this pack. This will help you define objectives and establish the points you would like to see addressed.

Presentations will be made available to download after the conference. You will be notified by email when they are available.

We also invite you to take part in our online delegate survey, details can be found on page 4. It would be very much appreciated if you could complete the survey to ensure that our conferences meet your expectations in the future.

Inside this pack you will find:• programme• speakerbiographies• participationandinteractivity• delegateinformation

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your ideas for future conferences, please feel free to contact a member of the Federation team at the registration desk today, who would love to hear your feedback and suggestions.

Finally, I would like to extend a warm thank you to our speakers and chair for their participation in today’s event.

I hope you enjoy the event.

Rosie Booth

Conference Organiser

The National Housing Federation would like to thank Prince Evans Solicitors for sponsoring the delegate bags.

ExhibitionFor information about exhibiting or sponsorship at any of the Federation’s events please contact Julian Hurst, Katie Healey or Phil Keith at Foremarke on 020 8877 8899 or housing@foremarke.uk.com

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08:45 Registration and refreshments Location: Foyer and Chaucer Room

09:30 Chairs welcome Location: Auditorium

Mark Easton, Home Editor, BBC

09:40 Opening plenary – The Lyons Housing Review Location: Auditorium

The Review, commissioned by Ed Milliband, will produce a roadmap to developing 200,000 homes a year by the end of the next parliament. It will make a range of recommendations for housing and planning policies and practice to make this possible. Hear Sir Michael’s insight into the evidence to date, the emerging themes, and what the final outputs might look like.

Speaker:Sir Michael Lyons, Former Chairman, BBC and Chair, Housing Commission

10:15 Industry panel: Where next for our love affair with home ownership? Location: Auditorium

One of the Government’s flagship policies, Help to Buy, builds on England’s obsession with home ownership, aiming to help first-time buyers achieve their dream. This session takes a step back and considers whether we will ever see a return to the 2005 peak in home ownership, or whether the current downward trend is irreversible.

● Can more be done to promote traditional and affordable forms of home ownership and its benefits?

● Should we find better ways to grasp the opportunities that rise from private renting offers?

Panellists:Paula Higgins, Chief Executive, Home Owners AllianceVidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief Executive, Resolution FoundationJohn Stewart, Director of External Affairs, Home Builders Federation

11:15 Refreshment break Location: Foyer and Chaucer Room

Programme

11:45 Breakout sessions

B1: Perceptions and positioning of shared ownership

Location: Auditorium

With the gulf between renting and owning continuing to widen, there is an overwhelming need for affordable home ownership options. There is still strong demand for shared ownership, which is better suited to meeting the needs of low-to-middle income households.

● What should the role of shared ownership be in today’s housing market and in the future?

● Who should be the target market for shared ownership?

● How can we improve public perceptions of shared ownership?

Speakers:Steve Moseley, Head of Strategy and Communications, L&QBen Clay, Director, HomesHub and New Business, Plus Dane GroupJohn Bibby, Policy Officer, ShelterChair:Adam Morton, Policy Leader, National Housing Federation

B2: Improving staircasing through innovation Location: Bronte Room

Whilst the flexibility of the shared ownership model is one of its great strengths, there have been concerns over the rate of staircasing activity. TVHA have launched ‘shared ownership plus’ to help shared owners automatically buy an additional 1% of their property each year. This session will provide:

● An outline of the model, its costs and why it was launched

● An explanation of the main legal considerations and how the model is structured

● An indication of the target market and how it has been received so far

Speakers:Kush Rawal, Assistant Director of Sales and Marketing, TVHASuzanne Benson, Partner, Trower and HamlinsChair:Greg Warner-Harris, Sales and Communications Director, Spectrum Housing Group

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Drinks reception and afterpartyWe are delighted to invite you to the drinks reception which will be held immediately after the conference in the Foyer, followed by the afterparty at the Somers Town Coffee House (60 Chalton Street, NW1 1HS), a four minute walk from the British Library.

Programme

B3: Building effective partnerships Location: Eliot Room

As demand for new housing continues to grow, so too does the need to establish effective relationships between housing associations and private housebuilders and local authority partners. This session will explore:

● How best to balance the sometimes competing interests and priorities of all three partners

● What is the experience of partnership working with housing associations? And how could these relationships be improved?

● What opportunities are there to establish joint ventures with housing associations to boost delivery of affordable and market housing?

Speakers:Stuart Gibbons, Managing Director, Galliford TRY PartnershipsJonathan Dunk, Joint Venture Project Manager, Gateshead CouncilChair:Laura Kavanagh , Policy Officer, National Housing Federation

12:45 Networking lunch

Location: Foyer and Chaucer Room

13:45 Breakout sessions B4: Growing the PRS and engaging with investors

Location: Bronte Room

Private renting is a growing part of the housing market and comprises almost 17% of all households in England. Government has launched and expanded its Build to Rent fund and established a Taskforce to support the expansion of the PRS. Many housing associations are already becoming increasingly involved. This session will cover:

● The role of the PRS Taskforce so far and views on the development of market rent as an asset class

● What investors are looking for from a market rent portfolio and how to promote your business to investors

● Key lessons in designing, developing and managing homes for market rent

Speakers: Dominic Martin, Member, PRS Taskforce, DCLGKurt Mueller, Director of Corporate Affairs, GraingerChair:Daniel Kaye, Director, Special Projects, Guiness Partnerships

B5: Getting it right with service charge design Location: Eliot Room

It goes without saying that housing associations cannot afford to be complacent about service charges, especially where they manage mixed tenure portfolios and schemes. This session will offer an insight into best practice on designing and calculating service charges including:

● How to design out as many service charges as possible

● How to better link legal and development teams of developers and management companies

● How to calculate and apportion service charges most effectively

Speakers:Steve Michaux, Director of Leasehold Services, A2DominionMichael Cleaver, Director of Home Ownership, Amicus Horizon Chair:Adrian Shaw, Director of Commercial and Leasehold, Centra Living

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B6: Improving service delivery through customer insightLocation: Auditorium

As housing associations look to enter new markets and work with new customer groups, it is crucial they have a deep understanding of customer needs if they are to be targeted and sold effectively. Hear about:

● Ways of delivering effective customer profiling and segmentation for affordable housing

● Tools for understanding characteristics, needs and requirements of shared owners

● How an improved knowledge of customer behaviour patterns and expectations can lead to better marketing, service delivery and identifying new business opportunities

Speakers: Joel Abbey, Principal Consultant, CACI LtdAdrian Spellman, Head of Market Intelligence, Catalyst Housing Group Chair:Helen Burgoyne, Director of Strategy and Insight, Orbit Group

14:45 Refreshment break Location: Foyer and Chaucer Room

Programme

15:15 Industry panel: Home Straight - The Road to the Election Location: Auditorium

With the next General Election due in May 2015, political parties are already turning their attention to manifestos and key election issues. This session will illustrate what the main priorities are for the electorate, where the election will be won or lost and how the main political parties are likely to respond. It will close by considering where housing features in all of this and what we can do to raise its profile. Panellists:

Ben Page, Chief Executive, Ipsos MORIVidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief Executive, Resolution FoundationTim Montgomerie, Columnist, The Times

16:00 Closing plenary: Responding to a changing environment Location: Auditorium

The range of economic, social, political and regulatory challenges facing housing associations continues to evolve. This session will address how the sector may best respond to these challenges and prosper. Internally, how can housing associations ensure their structure, governance, management of risk and expertise is fit-for-purpose? Externally, what does it mean for the services and products housing associations offer to new and existing customers? Speakers:

Paul Tennant, Group Chief Executive, Orbit GroupPiers Williamson, Chief Executive, The Housing Finance Corporation

16:45 Networking drinks reception Location: Foyer

18:00 Conference close and afterparty until late Venue: Somers Town Coffee House

Online delegate feedback surveyPlease take time to complete our online feedback questionnaire. You will be sent an email with information on how to access thesurvey directly after the event or you can use the QR Reader on your Smartphone.Alternatively go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AHO0514

You can access this survey from 16:30 on Wednesday 21 May.

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Speaker biographies

Joel Abbey, Principal Consultant, CACI Ltd

Specialising in market analysis and customer behaviour, CACI hold data on most UK individuals. Joel works with developers and operators to evidence external demand for their products and services and mitigate risk. The same analytical approach is used for targeted prospecting and in communication.

Vidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief Executive, Resolution Foundation

Vidhya is the deputy chief executive at the Resolution Foundation, an independent think tank that focuses on the living standards of Britain’s six million low to middle income households. Vidhya leads the Foundation’s work on housing. In the last year, she has published reports on build to rent, shared ownership and a major analysis of housing affordability across every local authority in Great Britain. She was a member of the reference group for the Montague Review into the barriers to institutional investment in the private rented sector and is a regular commentator on housing related issues.

Suzanne Benson, Partner, Trower and Hamlins

Suzanne specialises in the development of home ownership products and regulatory matters. She works with the HCA on their national schemes, most recently Help to Buy and she co-authored the Federation’s guidance on consumer credit issues for housing associations.

John Bibby, Policy Officer, Shelter

John works in Shelter’s policy team as policy lead on shared ownership, stable private sector renting and self-build. He comes from a local government background, having previously managed the cabinet office at Southwark Council, London’s largest council landlord.

Ben Clay, Director, HomesHub and New Business, Plus Dane Group

Ben has 13 years of experience in the development and sale of affordable homes. Ben is currently director at Plus Dane Group in Liverpool, responsible for a portfolio including shared ownership sales, market rent, new business, leasehold management and the Help to Buy Agency service for the North West region.

Michael Cleaver, Director of Home Ownership, Amicus Horizon

Michael has worked in the affordable housing sector since 1995. He has a background in sales and marketing and has worked in home ownership for three organisations as well as in central communications roles. He is responsible for the management of 4000 leasehold homes at AmicusHorizon as well as the sales and marketing of new and existing homes.

Jonathan Dunk, Joint Venture Project Manager, Gateshead Council

Over the last decade Jonathan has led major urban regeneration activity in the North of England. Overseeing the creation in 2012 of the LLP that brought Gateshead Council, Galliford Try and Home Group together he is now working to ensure that the project evolves to deliver 2,400 great new homes.

Stuart Gibbons, Managing Director, Galliford TRY Partnerships

Stuart is the managing director of the partnerships division of the Galliford Try Group, one of the UK’s leading house building, construction and regeneration businesses with revenues in excess of £1.5 billion. A fusion of contracting and development expertise, Galliford Try Partnerships specialises in the provision of affordable, speculative and mixed tenure housing, extracare, and regeneration across the UK.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)To find out more about the CPD Certification Service call 020 8840 4383, email info@cpduk.co.uk or visit www.cdpuk.co.uk. Attendance certificates and self-assessment forms are available at the registration desk.

Speaker biographies

Paula Higgins, Chief Executive, HomeOwners Alliance

Paula is one of the founders of the HomeOwners Alliance. She had a long career as a civil servant, working on regeneration, housing, planning and environmental issues; as part of her work she was lobbied by the hundreds of groups that represent industry. Paula struggled to find anyone to put across the views and interests of the homeowners and those who aspire to own and she left the civil service to do something about it. The HomeOwners Alliance champions and serves homeowners and homebuyers, and influences government policy and industry practice. They directly engage with government and the media by conducting independent research and publishing independent advice for the key moments in owning a home.

Sir Michael Lyons, Former Chairman, BBC, and Chair, Housing Committee

Sir Michael is chairman of the English Cities Fund, which is currently reshaping Rathbone Market in East London, and has other large scale regeneration developments across England. He is currently chairman of SQW Ltd and a former chairman of the BBC. He was knighted for services to local government in 2001. He led the national “Lyons Inquiry” into the functions and funding of local government which argued for greater devolution and emphasised the local authority’s role in Placeshaping. He is a former deputy chairman of the Audit Commission and professor of Public Policy at Birmingham University. He is currently chairman of the Housing Commission established by Ed Milliband.

Dominic Martin, Member, PRS Taskforce, DCLG

Dominic is a chartered surveyor, seconded to the Taskforce from EC Harris with core skills in market research, financial analysis (commercial and residential), development appraisals and residential investment. He co-published a research report into PRS Viability across England at EC Harris, has contributed to the ULI Build to Rent Best Practice Handbook and is a member of the IPF Residential Investment Group.

Steve Michaux, Director of Leasehold Services, A2Dominion

Steve is group director of Leasehold Services for A2Dominion Group and has worked for many housing providers over the last 30 years. He is currently chair of the National Leasehold Group which promotes the need for specialist and professional management.

Tim Montgomerie, Columnist, The Times

Tim is opinion editor and columnist for The Times. He ran the grassroots Tory website ConservativeHome until April 2013 and was a co-founder of the Centre for Social Justice.

Steve Moseley, Head of Strategy and Communications, L&Q

Steve currently heads up the corporate Strategy and Communication functions at L&Q. This includes responsibility for directing and managing L&Q’s strategic planning process, market analysis, product development and oversight of the corporate research programme.

Kurt Mueller, Director of Corporate Affairs, Grainger

As the Director of Corporate Affairs at Grainger plc, Kurt is responsible for Grainger’s overall brand and reputation as well as communications, including investor relations. As a member of the senior management team, Kurt is heavily involved in both new business initiatives and corporate strategy development.

Ben Page, Chief Executive, Ipsos MORI

Ben is chief executive of Ipsos MORI and has worked in Market Research since 1987. A frequent writer and speaker on leadership and performance management, he has directed hundreds of surveys examining service delivery, customer care and communications. He is absolutely committed to ensuring survey research makes a difference for decision makers.

Speaker biographies

Kush Rawal, Assistant Director of Sales and Marketing, TVHA

Kush has worked in the property industry for over 10 years. He leads an experienced team of property professionals who between them have sold over 5,000 homes. Recently he has worked on a number of projects to improve the secondary market for shared ownership homes including a market based resale’s offer, a deposit free mortgage as well as a new product to assist shared ownership purchasers with accessing more equity in their home.

Adrian Spellman, Head of Market Intelligence, Catalyst Housing Group

Adrian has been head of market intelligence at Catalyst for seven years and with the company since 2002. Was previously head of customer service for a PC manufacturer, a financial advisor and a property developer.

John Stewart, Director of External Affairs, Home Builders Federation

John is director of economic affairs at the Home Builders Federation. He has a wide range of policy responsibilities, including the economy, the housing and mortgage markets, housing supply, the private rented sector, residential valuation and initiatives such as NewBuy and Help to Buy.

Paul Tennant, Group Chief Executive, Orbit Group

Paul is group chief executive of Orbit, an organisation committed to building communities through the provision of a wide range of services, delivery of a large home building programme, and investment in communities. His interests include enhancing the quality and range of service provided by housing organisations, the transformation of businesses to respond to the new world, and promoting the values and value of our work.

Piers Williamson, Chief Executive, The Housing Finance Corporation

Piers has been the chief executive of The Housing Finance Corporation – a leading profit-for-purpose lender to UK Housing Associations – for the last eleven years, working extensively with government and government agencies and viewed as a sector expert on all aspects of housing. In addition to his duties at THFC completed a six year spell in 2011 as a non-executive director of Cooperative Bank and Cooperative Insurance, where he was chair of the Risk Management Committee. Piers was appointed as a non-executive member of the Homes & Communities Agency’s Regulation Committee for Social Housing in 2012.

Participation and interactivity

The National Housing Federation strives to produce events that maximise our delegates’ objectives – whether that’s networking, gaining practical or tangible learnings or inspiration for taking a particular strategy forward. To ensure that you extract the maximum value from the day, we would encourage you to get involved as much as possible to shape your learning experience.

Be vocalWe have built in a number of opportunities for you to put questions to our speakers so don’t hesitate to put your hand up during the Q&A.

Get chattingSome of the most lucrative and valuable relationships have been made through event networking on-site. Speaking to your peers provides an unrivalled opportunity to make contacts, share best practice or simply bounce ideas off one another. We have built in a number of networking breaks throughout the day and we encourage you to make the most of them. If there is anyone in particular you wish to meet, please make this known to one of the conference staff and we will endeavour to facilitate this. You can also join in the conversation on twitter - #NHFAHO14. Make your experience your own.

Delegate information

Conference surveyYour feedback is invaluable to us. Please take the time to complete the delegate survey, which will be emailed to you after the event.

Refreshments and lunchAll refreshments and lunch will be served in the Foyer and Chaucer Room. If you have advised us of any special dietary requirements, please contact a member of venue staff.

Name badges You will have been given a name badge upon registration. For security reasons, and as a courtesy to other delegates, please ensure that you wear it at all times.

Mobile phones Delegates are reminded that mobile phonesmust be switched to silent during all conference sessions.

Emergency procedureIn the event of an emergency, delegates shouldmake their way quickly and calmly to the nearest exit without collecting their belongings. In the event of an emergency procedure or evacuation delegates should follow the guidance and instructions of the venue staff, and subsequently, the emergency services (if applicable).

Security and personal belongingsWe advise that you keep your valuables in the cloakroom facility or with you at all times. We ask you to mark your conference documentation with your name so we are able to return them to you if lost. We regret that neither the Federation nor the venue can be held responsible for loss or damage to property.

Keep up to dateTo keep up to date with forthcoming Federationconferences and events visit www.housing.org.uk. Why not register for the Members’ only area at the same time to receive e-briefings and e-bulletins of your choice? For telephone enquiries, please contact a member of the Federation’s Business Sales and Support Team on 020 7067 1066.

DisclaimerThis programme is correct at the time of going topress. In the event of one or more of the advertised speakers being unable to attend, for reasons beyond the control of the conference organisers, we reserve the right to make alterations or substitutions to the programme as deemed fit. All timings are provisional and may be subject to change. Views expressed by speakers are their own. The National Housing Federation disclaims any liability for advice given or views expressed by any speaker at the event or in notes or documentation provided to delegates.

PresentationsHelp us to protect the environment – downloadspeaker presentations from our website.The National Housing Federation is fully committedto reducing our impact on the environment and engendering the same approach from our members and the wider social housing sector. We therefore do not produce presentation materials for our delegates. Presentations will be uploaded within seven days of the conference to www.housing.org.uk/events/presentations and they will be available for three months.

The National Housing Federation is the voice of affordable housing in England. We believe that everyone should have the home they need at a price they can afford. That’s why we represent the work of housing associations and campaign for better housing.

Our members provide two and a half million homes for more than five million people. And each year they invest in a diverse range of neighbourhood projects that help create strong, vibrant communities.

National Housing Federation, Lion Court, 25 Procter Street, London, WC1V 6NYTel: 020 7067 1066 Fax: 020 7067 1015 events@housing.org.uk www.housing.org.uk

Forthcoming events 20147 – 8 July Housing Development Conference and Exhibition, Coventry

17 – 19 September Annual Conference and Social Housing Exhibition, Birmingham

2 December London Development Conference, London

For a brochure on any of these events visit www.housing.org.uk/events or email marketing@housing.org.uk stating the conference name and we will send you information.

For details of all our forthcoming events and for the latest news and policy updates visit the website www.housing.org.uk

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