Huge Losses for town Housebuilder, as calls grow for the firms parent company underpinning it to be investigated......

More Financial Troubles arise at Gus Robinson Ltd as its announced the business has made yet another huge financial loss, with calls for its parent company Thirteen Housing to be investigated..

6th November 2024

A once Hartlepool based construction company has again reported eyewatering financial losses, prompting claims its parent company should be investigated for allegations of financial mismanagement.

Gus Robinson Developments Ltd, once a successful housebuilding firm previously headed by Hartlepool businessman Gus Robinson, has been facing a significant financial meltdown since its acquisition by the 35,000 strong Teesside housing association Thirteen Housing Group. The company, initially scheduled to be wound up in April 2024, has seen financial losses spiral as it attempts to complete its remaining projects, leaving Thirteen Housing Group grappling with its mounting financial burdens.

The company’s latest financial report reveals pre-tax losses totaling £1.9 million pounds, nearly double the previous year’s figure. This escalating debt has sparked concerns that Thirteen Housing Group, the organization responsible for over 35,000 homes in Teesside, will be left bearing the weight of these losses—ultimately leading to sizeable rent increases for its tenants as the firm attempts to mitigate its considerable losses.

Under Mr. Robinson's leadership, Gus Robinson Developments was a respected and profitable local enterprise, but since his death in 2011, & the firm then being absorbed into the Teesside landlord Thirteen Housing Group, the business has reportedly never returned a profit. Instead, the companies been posting continued significant annual losses, prompting its board to close external order books and focus solely on existing projects within Thirteen’s housing portfolio, however despite these efforts, its claimed the financial losses have only intensified.

According to recent filings, the firm has accumulated debts exceeding £11 million, underscoring the financial challenges that have marked its recent history. Directors for us Robinson Developments have projected that the business will officially cease operations by 2025 or 2026, likely incurring even greater losses by then.

The looming question now is how this financial strain may impact Thirteen Housing Group’s 35,000 tenants, many of whom are concerned that Thirteen may attempt to offset these losses through rent increases or additional fees, potentially burdening those least able to afford it.

However, In the wake of this downturn, many in Hartlepool are said to be questioning how a once-profitable company could fall into such dire straits and what, if any, measures Thirteen Housing Group will take to protect tenants from shouldering the cost of Gus Robinson’s financial decline, with calls for the companies finances & its directors to be put under the spotlight over claims the business has been improperly managed, potentially sparking an investigation into financial impropriety at the once respected town business, that under its new parent company who purchased it back in 2018 has simply 'ran it into the ground', & leaving its tenants to shoulder the losses