© Sapphire Annual Report 2025.
Introduction
Moving into a new home can be a transformative experience, and it has been uplifting to meet the new residents and see the positive impact this change will have on their lives. This aligns perfectly with Sapphire’s mission to provide homes and services that enhance residents' lives.
Throughout the year, we have also focused on the well-being of our existing residents. We conducted comprehensive tenancy visits to all general needs residents, which proved to be an invaluable opportunity to engage directly with them. These visits allowed us to enhance our services and address concerns, including repair issues that had previously gone unreported.
We are pleased to announce that our 2025 resident satisfaction survey shows an increase in overall satisfaction among residents.
As part of our consumer standards action plan, we implemented several improvements, particularly in how we handle complaints. We successfully addressed 97% of Stage 1 complaints in full and on time. Following a reassessment, we have retained our Customer Services Excellence (CSE) accreditation.
We acknowledge that there is still more work to do in terms of resident voice and engagement. To address this, we have decided to develop a new strategy through collaborative workshops that have involved residents, Board members, and staff. This initiative will pave the way for establishing a scrutiny panel in the next year.
Supported housing is central to Sapphire’s mission; however, it is becoming an increasingly challenging area. We understand that our local authority partners appreciate our supported services, but throughout the year, we have had to collaborate closely with them to adjust or reduce the number of residents in supported housing to align with available funding.
As a landlord, safety is a top priority for both our staff and the Board. Throughout the year, we conducted compliance checks in all our buildings and took action on any necessary issues that were identified.
We are pleased to have achieved a net promoter score that places us in the highest quartile, with a staff satisfaction rating of 70%. The effectiveness of our service delivery to residents relies on our dedicated staff team. At Sapphire, we prioritise the well-being and value of our colleagues, recognising their crucial role in achieving our aims. During the year, we have implemented a well-being strategy aimed at enhancing the health and wellness of our team members.
Like many registered providers, Sapphire has been navigating a challenging environment while striving to deliver effective services to residents. Although we have demonstrated our ability to adapt and diversify in response to various challenges, we want to ensure we are well-prepared for the future. To do this, we decided to conduct an organizational review. We engaged Altair consultants to carry out a comprehensive assessment, which included workshops with both residents and staff. They provided several recommendations that we plan to implement over the next 18 months.
We have included a summary of our audited accounts in the annual report, and we are pleased to share that we achieved a surplus. This places us in a stronger position to enhance our financial resilience, as we begin to receive income from our new homes this year.
We would like to express our gratitude to the staff and Board members at Sapphire for their hard work and dedication over the past year. Additionally, we would like to extend our thanks to our partners and stakeholders for their continued support.
Heather Thomas, CEO and Sir Steve Bullock, Chair of the Board
In September 2024, we began a full review of our resident engagement offer, aiming to strengthen Sapphire’s commitment to giving residents a stronger voice, greater influence, and a genuine partnership role in shaping the homes and services they receive.
This led to the creation of our new Resident Engagement and Involvement Framework, which includes the Resident Engagement Policy and Strategy for 2025–2028.
Developed collaboratively through three focus group workshops held between December 2024 and June 2025, the framework reflects the shared experiences, priorities, and vision of residents, staff, and Board members.
Looking ahead, our goal is to embed a culture of mutual trust, respect, and accountability, ensuring that engagement is both meaningful and easy to access, and that resident feedback directly drives service improvements.
Progress will be monitored and reported annually to demonstrate the tangible benefits of involvement for individuals, communities, and the organisation.
This approach impacts all Sapphire residents, Board members, employees, contractors, and community partners, with a commitment to making opportunities inclusive and accessible to all.
As part of this work, we are launching a new Scrutiny Panel, inviting residents to play a central role in improving housing and support services, and ensuring every tenant’s voice is heard. We are excited about the opportunities this framework will bring.
We have been working closely with the London Borough of Hounslow on developing new homes in the Borough on former garage court sites. We have agreed terms to purchase a long lease on 20 development sites in Hounslow and have completed 15 leases.
All these sites have planning consent and we have a programme of 103 new homes to develop. We work closely with the Greater London Authority, who provide grant funding for the developments.
At the end of March 2025, with our construction partners Helix Construct, Ark Build, Ermine Construction and Chartwell Vision, we completed 27 new homes.
We anticipate a further 12 homes will complete in August 2025, we will have completed a total of 64 new homes. A further 9 homes will complete in April 2026 at Sparrow Farm Drive.
The remaining 30 homes will start before March 2026, 24 new homes will be delivered at 3 sites on Oxford Way, Feltham these will start in August 2025. We will be looking to start building our final Hounslow site at Manor Gardens.
Our future pipeline currently consists of a potential scheme in Brent in partnership with the Brent Community Land Trust which will provide 19 new homes on a site in Harlesden. Planning will be submitted in November 2025. We are also in the process of developing a single home in partnership with a developer at Harrington Square in Camden.
Providing high quality homes and services to our residents remains a priority and our new schemes are no exception. We are especially pleased to be aiming for zero carbon homes as part of our new programme, which will enable our residents to enjoy comfortable new homes, with affordable energy bills.
Sapphire are also delighted to announce that we will be looking to retain “Investment Partner Status” for the new affordable homes programme, which will start in March 2026. This will enable Sapphire to develop a programme of affordable new homes through the Mayor’s Homes for Londoners Programme.
We want our people to be engaged and empowered because we know that our colleagues are the face of Sapphire. We believe that having fully engaged people is the best way for us to provide excellent services to residents and communities.
Sapphire’s Employment, Training and Education Co-ordinator at Conway House, Linda Jones, was awarded the Employee of the Year Award 2024.
Linda was nominated by her peers for the increased resident engagement in activities due to her persistent endeavours; the fact that she knows all the residents in the hostel; and the support she provides her colleagues.
Her colleagues say:
“Linda works in the Training Resource Centre and has an open door policy for residents to come in and have a chat. I’ve known a resident to go to the TRC because Linda will make them a cup of coffee and have a chat and she has been able to gain vital information that keyworkers may not have been aware of.”
“Linda will always go the extra mile for the residents. If there are barriers in the way, she will find the right person or people to speak to remove or reduce these barriers. “
“An ex-resident once said Linda eats glitter every day because she always comes to work with a positive attitude and a smile on her face.”
Linda says:
“Winning the Employee of the Year award meant a great deal to be recognised by the company and my colleagues for the work I’m passionate about. It’s been a motivating milestone in my journey here.”
Sapphire threw its annual combined Staff Conference and Christmas celebration on 22 November 2024, bringing everyone together for a day of connection, learning, celebration, and appreciation. The conference was held in Canary Wharf and the event created the perfect setting for colleagues to catch up, reflect, and enjoy each other’s company, strengthening the sense of unity in the organisation.
This was an opportunity to hear from Sapphire’s Chair and Executive Team, covering organisational performance, expectations for the coming months, and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
We were especially pleased to hear from one of our residents, Kevin, founder of Khady’s Dream, an initiative dedicated to youth crime prevention, who shared his journey, inspiring and affecting everyone with their story of transformation and success.
To keep the energy up, there were team-building activities, encouraging collaboration and engagement. Employees also heard about colleagues who had excelled in roles throughout the year and who as a consequence had been nominated for the Employee of the Year Award by their peers, shining a spotlight on those who go above and beyond.
After the conference, everyone sat down for a festive Christmas lunch, soaking up the warm and cheerful atmosphere. The fun kept going at Fairgame in Canary Wharf, an arcade venue where staff enjoyed games, laughter, and some friendly competition.
The day was also a time for recognition, with special long term service awards presented, including to Janice Esten for an incredible 30 years of dedication to Sapphire.
A recognition for all of our colleagues, and a truly impressive milestone!
Overall, it was a fantastic day packed with fun, celebration, and well-earned recognition, highlighting everything Sapphire stands for as an employer.
How our colleagues are feeling about working for Sapphire is really important to us. We listen to our colleagues and really value their feedback.
We want to be a well-run organisation, working to plans, within budget and confident about managing change.
Our commitment to resident involvement ensures that their voices are heard and their needs are prioritised.
Research tells us the average impact value of supporting a homeless vulnerable person into settled accommodation has a social impact value of £8,019.
We achieved 61 applicable moves, which is £489,159 in social value and a drop of 67% compared to last year’s £1,496,768.
As a not-for-profit organisation, we reinvest all income into improving our homes, supporting our customers, and developing our staff to deliver the highest standards of service.
We are committed to ensuring resident involvement remains central to our work, enabling voices to be heard, needs to be prioritised, and residents to play an active role in shaping their communities.
Our housing team provides vital support to vulnerable tenants, including financial inclusion initiatives and safeguarding measures for those affected by domestic abuse or facing mental health challenges.
In parallel, our care and support teams focus on enhancing the lives of service users by promoting independence, empowerment, and equal access to opportunities.
Celebrating the opening of Ashford Road development in London Borough of Hounslow.
Board members are:
Our homes are located in the London Boroughs of Camden, Islington, Brent, Hounslow and in Hertsmere, with more new homes coming shortly in Hounslow.
Further details can be found at each location on the map below.
We have the following homes located within the London Borough of Camden: Conway House, Tara Lodge, Espalier Gardens and Hackett House.
Bethany House is located within the London Borough of Islington.
St Eugene Court is located within the London Borough of Brent.
We have a number of homes within the London Borough of Hounslow, with further new homes coming during 2025-2026.
Townsend House and Hepburn Court are located within Hertsmere.