Concerned councillors have questioned whether North Yorkshire Council’s loss-making housing company will ever turn its finances around — despite a five-year recovery plan being drawn up.
Members of the authority’s shareholder committee were today told Brierley Homes would adopt a new way of working in a bid to make a profit in future years after recording a £7.8m loss for 2025/26 and forecasting a further loss of £5.8m for the current financial year.
Brierley Homes managing director Tony Dodds told councillors it was a fresh start for the company.
He said:
“This is an entirely new Brierley Homes, a new strategy, a new approach to the company and a new team
“I’ve been in post officially since the beginning of February so we’re looking at the company afresh, and we’re changing the direction.”
He said that, as well as continuing to build housing for the open market, the company would work with housing associations to build more affordable housing, which is deemed less risky.
It would also focus on self and custom-build properties, with funding provided in advance.
Councillor Mark Crane, deputy leader of the Conservative-controlled authority and executive member for open to business, told the meeting he had more confidence in Brierley Homes than he did a year ago.
He added:
“I do think it’s important to state that there is shareholder value over and above what we see in the accounts.
“We are charging significantly above base rate for the money that we are loaning to Brierley Homes, which obviously comes into the council.
“I also think it’s positive that we are so involved in building affordable homes — it’s a priority for the current government, as it is for this council.”
But Reform councillor Tim Grogan questioned whether Brierley Homes had ever made a profit since its launch in 2018.
He added:
“What worries me is that property development is a venture that is very, very risky; I think we all agree with that.
“I’ve got serious, serious doubts about this.”
Cllr Grogan asked five questions about the running of the housing company, including how the firm went from forecasting a £348,000 profit to recording a £7.8m loss for 2025/26.
Regarding the losses, Conservative councillor George Jabbour asked if the authority would have still extended two additional loans to the housebuilder last summer had it been aware of its finances.
Councillor Kevin Foster, leader of the Green Party group on the authority, added after the meeting:
“These latest figures are extremely concerning and show that the problems with Brierley Homes are getting worse, not better.
“I have previously raised concerns that walking away from Brierley Homes could cost the council around £22m. But the question we now have to ask is, how much more will it cost if we continue to wait?”
A report prepared for the meeting showed that Brierley Homes had already recorded a £1.049m loss during the first quarter of 2026/27 and was forecast to post a £5.827m loss for the full year.
The company made a £7.8m loss for the last financial year despite forecasting a profit of £350,000 in October 2025.
The problems at Brierley Homes mean the Brierley Group as a whole is forecast to make a £2.64m pre-tax loss this year. The £5.8m loss at the housebuilder offsets combined profits of around £3.2m elsewhere in the group.
Despite the overall group loss, the council calculates that the Brierley Group will provide £8m of wider “shareholder value” during 2026/27 through factors including financing income, efficiencies and other financial benefits.
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