The Guinness Partnership is a national housing provider, managing over 60,000 mainly affordable homes, of which 12,000 are in Greater Manchester. Employing 642 staff within the city region, its north regional office is based in Oldham. Guinness is committed to providing an excellent service to its customers and developing new homes for rent and sale in Greater Manchester.

We describe ourselves as a customer service organisation because it’s our customers that we’re here for. That means the people we provide homes to today – our tenants and leaseholders – and the people we provide care and support services to today. It also means our future customers.

We operate in 125 local authority areas across England. Most of our homes are homes for rent at prices significantly lower than those charged in the private market. And on tenancy terms which offer far greater security. We also provide affordable home ownership options and homes that people can purchase outright on the open market, recognising that the shortage of housing in this country affects those seeking to buy a home too.

This range of housing meets a range of needs, and any profit we make on homes for outright sale helps us invest in and build more affordable homes.

Some of what we do is specifically for older people. This includes providing housing for older people, as well as care at home services for those who prefer to stay in their own homes. As the population ages, these homes and services are in increasing demand.

The range of housing and services we provide means our customer base is increasingly diverse. We must provide services in a way that responds to this – and we must provide the right homes and services – recognising that expectations are changing all the time, and the ways in which technology enables us to respond in 2023 are likely to be very different.

The work that housing associations do is important, and there is an extraordinary demand for our homes and services. We want to do as much as possible to meet that demand, and to be here for as many people as possible.