Aster’s A+ credit rating confirmed by S&P

Ethical housing developer Aster Group’s strong credit rating has been affirmed by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

In a ratings report, S&P awarded Aster an A+ rating and said the housing group had a “very strong enterprise profile and strong financial profile”. 

As a result, Aster, which owns and manages over 28,000 properties across the south of England, is likely to “continue to generate stable operating and financial performance”, according to S&P.

The ratings agency also said Aster’s outlook was stable in an upbeat assessment of its future prospects.

S&P’s confirmation of Aster’s credit rating follows the housing developer’s announcement last month that it plans to invest £500m over the next five years in building new homes.

Chris Benn, finance director at Aster Group, said: “Maintaining one of the strongest credit ratings in our sector is a further welcome endorsement of the strategy we are executing to deliver a commercially-focussed, diversified portfolio of properties which still puts housing need at the centre of all we do.

“Our plans to invest half a billion pounds over the next five years in new housing will bring high-quality homes available via a range of tenures to parts of the UK where demand currently exceeds supply. This will also deliver income for further investment into our estate.”

In the year to the end of March 2016, Aster reported record revenues of £179m (2015: £175m), with pre-tax profits of £34m, a year-on-year increase of 20%.