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26
May
Why are councillors worried about Brierley Homes’ finances?
Multiple councillors from parties of all colours have raised concern about the financial state of Brierley Homes.
The council-owned housebuilder is set to report yet another loss for the last financial year amid mounting loans from North Yorkshire Council.
It paints a worrying picture for some councillors, despite council officer assurances that the company’s new managing director has a plan to reduce its debts and improve its cashflow.
So why are councillors concerned and what is the financial state of Brierley Homes?
What financial state is the company in?
The council revealed this week that Brierley Homes is set to report a £7.5 million loss for the 2025/26 financial year.
The financial position is outlined in a report for the Conservative-controlled council’s executive next week and is more than double the reported loss for the previous year.
Houses built by Brierley Homes, the council-owned housing company.
In addition, the company has been heavily reliant on council loans recently to assist with its cashflow.
Brierley Homes has access to a £27 million loan facility, which it can draw down on by putting a request into the council.
The council’s most recent decision in March saw it approve a £300,000 drawdown from the facility.
On multiple occasions, the authority has cited the need to allow the company time for sales to be received as a reason for approving further funding.
However, as revealed by the Stray Ferret in April, the company’s sales figures have fallen by £7 million in the last three financial years.
What does the council plan to do?
In February, the council appointed Tony Dodds as new managing director of Brierley Homes.
Mr Dodds, who previously ran Northumberland-based Tony Dodds Consulting, carried out a review of Brierley Homes which was published in September 2025.
Tony Dodds, managing director of Brierley Homes.
The review came amid criticism from opposition councillors that the firm was reliant on large sums of money from the authority.
Now, council officials have tasked Mr Dodds with drawing up a five-year plan for the company which includes addressing its cashflow position and reducing its debt.
However, council chiefs have warned that, despite plans to reduce its debt, £7 million of the company’s loans may still be outstanding in five years' time.
Naturally, this has sparked further concern from opposition councillors about the impact on taxpayers.
Why are councillors worried?
Councillors are concerned over the amount of loans being given to Brierley Homes and the prospect of whether the money will be repaid.
This week, Cllr Peter Lacey, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, raised concern over the council setting aside £7m for the potential non-repayment of loans to the company.
He said:
People will be shocked to see the council now setting aside £7 million because it may not get all of its money back.
At the same time, the council says it is struggling to cope with rising costs in children’s services and adult social care.
Residents will rightly wonder how things were allowed to get this bad.
Other councillors have pointed to the direction of the company as a point of concern, in particular the type of houses it builds.
Councillor Steve Shaw-Wright, leader of the Labour group on the authority, called for the company to change direction and build more affordable homes and council houses “rather than the £500,000-plus houses they currently do”.
He added:
It’s well before time that those in power swallowed their pride and change direction now, before the mountain of debt becomes unmanageable.
But, the council maintains that the company offers “much needed housing with more flexibility”.
It added that the firm’s finances were not as straightforward as a profit and loss account.
A spokesperson said:
Things are not always as straightforward as profit and loss, and we have to look at our wider responsibilities around providing affordable, accessible homes for people across the county.
It’s prudent that we recognise the financial issues which the company is experiencing and put a plan in place to minimise further risk to the council, hence the offsetting of potential losses against the income from the rest of the Brierley Group.
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