London, July 2, 2026, 20:06 BST
- Abri and Curo are in talks for a 73,000-home landlord serving 142,000 customers across the south and South West of England.
- Radian Capital plc (LON:43QL) and Yarlington Treasury Services PLC (LON:83BM) notices name £520 mln of secured bonds tied to the talks; annual coupons calculate to about £24.8 mln.
- Abri has G1/V1 regulatory grades; Curo has C1/G1/V2, making financial headroom a core investor test.
Abri Group and Curo Group are not equity-listed companies, so the immediate market read-through is in debt, not shares. London securities trading had passed the exchange’s 16:30 BST close at the dateline time.
The two housing associations said on July 1 their boards were exploring a partnership. A full business case is being drawn up and will need further due diligence, stakeholder talks and approval from both boards. Curo said a final decision is expected later this year after customer consultation.
Curo would add more than 14,000 homes, mainly in Bath and Bristol, to Abri’s more than 58,000 homes in the South of England. On those rounded figures, Curo would lift Abri’s home count by about 24%.
| Measure | Abri | Curo | Combined proposal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes / assets | More than 58,000 homes | More than 14,000 homes | More than 73,000 homes and community assets |
| Main geography | South of England | Bath, Bristol and West of England | South and South West England |
| RSH grades | G1/V1; consumer not yet assessed | C1/G1/V2 | No new group judgement yet |
| Latest verified Abri finance line | £477 mln turnover; £123 mln operating surplus; £135 mln existing-home investment in 2025/26 | July notices did not give fresh 2025/26 financials | Business case pending |
The public-debt maths gives the story its investor weight. Radian’s notice named £400 mln of secured bonds due from 2042 to 2049. Yarlington’s notice named another £120 mln secured bond due 2057. The £520 mln figure is not total group debt; it is the public secured bond principal named in the two notices.
| Issuer / instrument | Principal | Coupon | Maturity | Annual coupon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radian secured bond | £100 mln | 6.000% | 2042 | £6.0 mln |
| Radian secured bond | £100 mln | 4.622% | 2044 | £4.6 mln |
| Radian secured bond | £200 mln | 5.029% | 2049 | £10.1 mln |
| Yarlington secured bond | £120 mln | 3.410% | 2057 | £4.1 mln |
| Named public secured bonds | £520 mln | 4.76% weighted | 2042-2057 | £24.8 mln |
Spread across a proposed 73,000-home group, those named coupons come to roughly £340 per home a year. That is a simple scale check, not a covenant ratio. Abri reported £477 mln of turnover and £123 mln of operating surplus in unaudited 2025/26 accounts, plus £135 mln invested in repairs, maintenance, building and fire safety, and energy efficiency.
The grade gap is sharper. The Regulator of Social Housing said Abri’s V1 grade means it has financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios. Curo’s V2 grade is still compliant, but the regulator said Curo needs to manage material risks to stay compliant.
Gary Orr, Abri’s group chief executive, called the two landlords an “excellent fit.” David McQuade, Curo’s interim chief executive, said the boards believed a combination would give them “more capacity to improve homes and services.” Curo Group
Abri also carries an A3 stable rating from Moody’s Ratings, part of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO), according to its investor page. Caroline Moore, Abri’s chief financial officer, said Moody’s had cited Abri’s “solid liquidity” when the rating was retained. Abri
The sector backdrop is tight. The regulator’s latest quarterly survey put 12-month cash interest cover excluding sales at 79% for the year to March 2026 and forecast 67% for the year to March 2027. It also said repairs and maintenance spend hit £9.5 bln over the year to March 2026 and is forecast at £10.7 bln over the next 12 months. Will Perry, the regulator’s director of strategy, said providers must “maintain strong liquidity and secure funding.” Gov
