Home Group has maintained its place as one of the most financially robust social housing providers in the country.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) has rated the Newcastle-based housing association as A+ following a rigorous assessment of the company's finances and its future strategy.

Home Group has 53,000 properties across the UK and is also the largest provider of care and support services. Its latest audited accounts showed a growth in turnover to £313m.

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S&P said: "the strong demand for Home Group’s properties, low debt levels and a high level of unencumbered assets" supported the A+ rating.

A report by the ratings agency recognised the challenges faced by Registered Providers, particularly those that delivered Government funded care and support contracts.

However, in awarding Home Group a A+/Stable/-- rating, S&P said that it had a "very strong liquidity position" and a clear approach to remaining financially robust in the future.

Mark Henderson, Home Group chief executive, said: "This is recognition of the hard work all at Home Group have put in to ensure that we are a financially robust, well-run provider of social housing with care. Standard & Poor's recognised that we have a clear strategy for the future that would enable us to remain among the upper echelons in our sector."

(CD)