Locarla | The UK's Social Housing Data Platform

Social Housing RMI Business Intelligence & other stuff

Happy 2026, one and all! May this be the year we all come together in a sauna and shout in one voice, “Blimey it’s a bit hot and crowded in here, but we work in the housing sector and it’s just nice to all be together, so we don’t care!”.

As is tradition for the first Briefing of the year, I forget about it, then rush to write this bit the night before, but get distracted with the kids fighting about dinner, homework and how I ruined their lives not sending them to private school – so end up writing any old nonsense, hence …

2025 round-up.
Very similar to 2024 but with more hair in my ears.

I think we can all agree that the long-awaited Procurement Act 2023 turned out to be a lot of fun. Preeti and her team came to work smiling every day, happy in the knowledge that with the introduction of the act, life had been made so much simpler & more straightforward for everyone. Why just stick with a few notices when 16 will do?
And they say there were no benefits to Brexit!

Also, we continued our AI journey of discovery and launched the Bid Assistant in July – which folks are only just beginning to find now. People, you can go pay loads of money for one of these or (if you have a licence) use ours for free. Remember it’s not just about ‘bids. The system will extract questions from any document, and if you upload the relevant material, it will find the answer and write it.

Locarla Property Insight / Locarla‌.‌ai / ‘The RAG’ was born just before Christmas, and released to our Decarb & Retrofit clients. It looks like ChatGPT because we nicked the layout & functionality, but under the hood it is Locarla made. More about that below.

If you’re heading to NHMF next week have fun. I will be in India so sadly won’t be able to make it, but y’all have fun ya hear. It is always a great conference to start the year.

In this month’s briefing:

‐	All the latest SDR data has been uploaded to Locarla, including some ‘exciting’ new fields.
‐	More stuff about ‘Locarla Property Insight’
‐	A cut out and keep year planner.
‐	And all your usual favourites – December League Tables, News, Award round‐up & Reports

And with that, we’re off.

‘Blue links‘ for all and ‘green links‘ are behind login, so dependent on your licence.

Welcome, welcome, one and all.

Locarla Property Insight / Locarla.ai / ‘The RAG’

Following feedback from a small focus group, we’ve decided to rename our RAG (Retrieval‐Augmented Generation) tool to Locarla Property Insight. The general reaction was that no one had a scooby what “RAG” meant, which told us everything we needed to know.

For those who don’t know, two years ago we started building our own Q&A machine, something that works like ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude, but instead of searching the web, it searches Locarla data only. That means 507,000,000 data points covering England and Wales’ Social Housing Property, EPC and Deprivation metrics.

Because we couldn’t find anyone who had done this before, we had to figure it out ourselves. Hence the two‐year timeline.

How to train your dRAGon ‐ Part 2.

It’s all News to me!

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Bromford Flagship Ltd and LiveWest Homes Ltd confirmed their proposed business combination remains on track to complete on 29th January 2026, creating Bromford Flagship LiveWest Ltd. Source: London Stock Exchange. Arhag has opened a consultation on a proposal to join the Hyde Group, informing customers about plans for the London‐based housing association to become part of the group. Source: Hyde Group. Linc and Pobl have rebranded as Codi Group, with Wales’ largest housing, care and support provider adopting the new name from 1st January 2026. Source: Codi Group. Stonewater’s acquisition of two Brighton-based housing associations has been delayed by four months, with completion now expected at the end of April 2026. Source: Housing Today

Hastings Borough Council is set to vote on winding up its wholly owned housing business, the Hastings Housing Company, following concerns over poor management and significant debts. Source: Housing Today

Peabody Trust has agreed a £310m refinancing package with Santander to support regeneration and investment in homes. Source: Peabody Trust. ForHousing has completed a £215m refinancing with NatWest and Barclays to boost investment in its homes. Source: Housing Executive. Lloyds Banking Group has backed Orbit Group with a £195m finance package to upgrade social homes. Source: Lloyds Banking Group. First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) will deliver at least 600 new affordable homes following a £110m funding deal with Santander UK. Source: Housing Executive. Sero and Sovereign Network Group have strengthened their partnership to deliver retrofit co-ordination for a £36.5m Wave 3 Warm Homes project. Source: LABM

Accent Housing has secured three major affordable housing contracts across Surrey, Milton Keynes and Wisbech, heading into 2026 in a strong position. Source: Accent Housing. Keepmoat will invest £84m to deliver 332 new homes in West Lothian with Home Group. Source: Daily Record

Cardo Group has acquired Paisley‐based roofing specialist Faskin Group, strengthening its maintenance and roofing capabilities in Scotland. Source: Construction Enquirer

UK construction insolvencies have surged, with 360 business failures recorded in October, prompting warnings of a “difficult winter” for the sector. Source: Construction News

The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund had installed around 104,700 measures in 50,800 households by October 2025. Source: GOV.UK. The Great British Insulation Scheme delivered 113,900 measures to 85,900 households over the same period. Source: GOV.UK, while ECO schemes have installed around 4.4m measures in 2.6m households. Source: GOV.UK. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme received 108,072 voucher applications by the end of November 2025, with 97% for air source heat pumps. Source: GOV.UK. On building safety, 5,613 residential buildings over 11 metres are being tracked for unsafe cladding remediation. Source: GOV.UK, with average remediation costs for non-ACM cladding estimated at £1,843sqm. Source: GOV.UK

The government plans to introduce a Single Construction Regulator to unify standards across buildings, products, and professionals. Source: GOV.UK. The UK plumbing and hard FM contractors’ market is forecast to grow from £27bn to over £32bn by 2029. Source: FMJ

An analysis found that firms linked to the Grenfell Tower disaster are still receiving multimillion-pound public contracts, with survivors urging the government to stop further awards. Source: The Guardian

The Affordable Homes Programme 2024‐25 reports 82,395 starts on site and 33,072 completions by March 2025. Source: GOV.UK. Housemark analysis shows value for money in social housing is increasingly driven by safety, compliance and long-term resilience. Source: Housing Executive. FOI findings reveal repairs are the leading cause of housing complaints to councils. Source: LocalGov

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New DHS & Inspection Survey Fields in Locarla

We’ve introduced new Decent Homes Standard (DHS) and Stock Condition Survey fields in Locarla, available via Build‐a‐Table within the Housing tab. These include DHS compliance metrics, criterion-level breakdowns, and the latest inspection survey indicators.
These fields are available to RMI Insight and Decarbonisation licence holders only.

UK social housing stock data has been updated for 2025 in Locarla, with the latest statistics and insights.

Download the full report.

Show me the money!

A PDF guide to contract management on Locarla.

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The starting whistle for 2026 has blown ‐ and social housing procurement is already packed with retrofit, repairs, compliance and major framework opportunities.

Leading Scotland’s energy efficiency pipeline, Scotland Excel is preparing PIN ‐ The Provision of Energy Efficiency Contractors worth £800m in Scotland, targeting delivery partners for energy efficiency works and services (multi‐lot), with demand expected across retrofit, insulation, heating upgrades, renewables and ventilation.

Shifting towards an enhanced repairs model Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council has set out a dual-route approach to responsive repairs in the North West through two aligned PINs. A £160m PIN ‐ Responsive Repairs and Maintenance ‐ Specialist Contractors programme focuses on trade‐led support for responsive repairs, maintenance quality, tenant experience and voids, complemented by a £60m PIN ‐ Responsive Repairs and Maintenance ‐ Principal Contractors route appointing delivery partners to manage area-based repairs and operational performance alongside in‐house teams.

Strengthening national supply chain opportunities, ESPO (Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation) has extended Cleaning Materials and Janitorial Supplies worth £104.2m across UK Wide for 23 months, supporting bulk supply and direct delivery of cleaning materials and janitorial supplies for eligible public sector customers.

Putting higher‐risk residential compliance front and centre, Portsmouth City Council is shaping PIN ‐ Building Safety ‐ Higher Risk Building Framework valued at £85m in the South East for 48 months, with scope including fire stopping, compartmentation, fire doors, fire-rated windows, external wall systems, alarms, sprinklers, risers, emergency lighting, AOVs and ventilation improvements.

Accelerating whole‐house retrofit at scale, Stonewater Ltd is tendering Whole House Retrofit Installation Works 2026 ‐ 2030 valued at £51.8m across Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East Anglia, South East, South West for 48 months, with PAS‐aligned delivery including insulation, windows and doors, heating systems, Solar PV and ventilation across four regional lots.

Targeting component renewals and estate upgrades, Cobalt Housing Limited is procuring Planned Maintenance 2026 at £41.7m in the North West for 48 months, covering external and communal works such as windows, external doors, structural repairs, roofing and redecoration, alongside internal renewals including kitchens, bathrooms, electrical installations and ventilation.

Consolidating London delivery under a single‐provider model, Home Group is tendering Responsive Repairs, Planned Works & Voids worth £41.7m across Greater London for 60 months, covering responsive repairs, planned works and void preparation under JCT MTC, supporting a region-wide stock of approximately 5,600 homes.

Bristol City Council has launched two aligned South West frameworks for 2026–2029. A £40m PIN ‐ Responsive Repairs & Void Refurbishment Framework for Domestic Properties programme covers multi-trade works including bricklaying, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, roofing and scaffolding, alongside a £19.5m PIN ‐ Roofing Framework for Domestic Properties offering dedicated lots for repairs, pitched replacements, and call‐off flat and pitched roofing across domestic properties.

Refreshing major waste service contracts, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is issuing Waste Contracts 2026 worth £40m in the North West for 36 months, split across treatment and processing of recyclable waste, food waste, and municipal waste disposal.

Nottingham City Council launches the Supply of Building Materials framework, valued at £31.4m over 48 months, appointing multiple suppliers across several lots to provide timber, heavy building materials, electrical and plumbing products, gas components, flooring, coatings, ironmongery, UPVC mouldings and wall tiles, supporting responsive repairs, planned works and compliance programmes across its housing stock.

Opening a Wales‐wide repairs and maintenance framework, Hafod Housing Association Ltd. is tendering Provision of Repairs and Maintenance Services Framework valued at £22.7m across Wales for 36 months, covering responsive repairs across housing stock, care homes and support schemes, with coverage including Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend and Rhondda Cynan Taff.

Launching measured term housing maintenance engagement, Wolverhampton Homes is warming the market for PIN ‐ Housing Maintenance Support Contract worth £22m in the West Midlands for 48 months, spanning building maintenance, electrical, roofing and adaptations, plus responsive works linked to Awaab’s Law and disrepair claims.

Creating a substantial managed stores supply channel, Swindon Borough Council is procuring Materials Supply through Managed Stores Service valued at £21.3m in the South West for 48 months, supporting a broad repairs‐material catalogue including heating, electrical, decorating, roofing, glazing, kitchens, bathrooms, ironmongery, tools, insulation, plumbing, timber, fencing and site safety equipment.

Rounding out planned external investment, Stroud District Council is tendering Planned External Works 2026 ‐ 2029 valued at £15m in the South West for 36 months, targeting council housing works including roofs, render, repointing and general external repairs across over 5,200 homes.

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The Other League Tables

Along with our main monthly league tables, ❲see below❳, we also produce tables based on the following trades: Retrofit, Asbestos Survey, Fire Risk Assessment, Water/Legionella & Stock Condition Survey. ❲RMI Insight & Decarbonisation clients, click here for the PDF❳

Top of the league in each table are ….

Retrofit:

Wates Group

Asbestos Survey:

Tersus Consultancy

Fire Risk Assessment:

IFI Group

Stock Condition Surveys:

Pennington Choices

Water / Legionella:

Sureserve Compliance Water

December League Tables

Built Environment Contracts

The trades we cover; Responsive Repair, Planned Works (Kitchen/Bathrooms & Doors/Windows), Gas Servicing/Central Heating, Voids, Fire Safety & Roofing.