Global Excellence 2019

Acquisition International - Global Excellence 2019 63 34 Acquisition International - Issue 2 2019 C&C is a not-for-profit Housing Trust and Association that provides specialist housing and care to vulnerable people and those aged 55+ in London. Following their success in AI’s Global Excellence Awards 2019, we profiled C&C and spoke to C&C’s Chief Executive Julia Ashley, who provided us with a detailed insight into the services the organisation provides on a daily basis. ounded in 1926, C&C own and manage over 2,000 homes in a range of affordable housing and care home properties. Additionally, C&C is a registered care home provider with a specialism in dementia care. All of C&C’s homes have been awarded a ‘Good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Additionally, the organisation’s care home, Cecil Court in Kew has been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating in the field of ‘Well Led’. Going into further detail, Julia begins by providing us with an overview of the services and accommodation C&C offers to their residents. “Here at C&C, we provide affordable homes to vulnerable people and those aged 55+ in London. Our offering includes sheltered, supported and general needs properties. Our sheltered housing is accessed by London’s most vulnerable, and our sheltered residents are those in threat of, or who have already been affected by, homelessness. Our sheltered housing service is at the heart of C&C’s cause. Mrs Chesterton, our founder, started Central & Cecil Housing Trust (C&C) 93 years ago, opening a shelter for homeless women in London.” C&C focuses their housing services to the ‘Over 55s’ living in London. The organisation’s residential care homes offer the very best in class care services to those living with dementia. Enabling the homes to deliver this exceptional level of service, is the passionate team which forms the backbone of C&C. When discussing the internal culture, Julia is keen to highlight the significant role the team play in the overall success of C&C. “Our amazing staff are at the root of our success as a business. Here at C&C, we come to work with positivity and enthusiasm because we witness every day how meaningful our work is to those who depend on us. Our people are highly engaged and committed; we know this because they have told us. “C&C is a culture driven by strong values and a vision to be inspirational in everything that we do. We are ‘ where inspiration lives ’.” Recently, C&C implemented their ‘Fit Future’ strategy. The result so far has been a challenging but rewarding path for the business for the next 10 years, as Julia explains. “The last financial year was one of the most substantial years of change that C&C has been through in decades. This was needed in order to deliver the better future services set out in our strategy. During this period, we introduced two new services to improve our resident experience; C&C Direct, our in-house repairs service and Service Hub, our resident concierge service.” C&C: Where Inspiration Lives F Looking ahead to what the future holds, Julia signs off by revealing the exciting plans which lie in the pipeline for the firm, especially following their recent success in Acquisition Intl.’s Global Excellence Awards 2019, where they were righteously awarded the accolade Most Inspirational Non-Profit Housing Provider 2019 – UK. “Currently, we are two years into the delivery of our ten year ‘Fit Future’ strategy. Within this strategy, we have set ourselves some ambitious service improvement and value for money goals which we are pleased to say we are on track with. “We are looking forward to seeing the changes we are implementing now, make a difference to our residents’ lives and homes in the future.” Jan19067 Company: C&C Address: Cecil House, 266 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8RQ, UK Telephone: 020 7922 5300 Website: www.ccht.org.uk “...we have set ourselves some ambitious service improvement and value for money goals which we are pleased to say we are on track with. “We are looking forward to seeing the changes we are implementing now, make a difference to our residents’ lives and homes in the future.” Jan19067