ZEBRA

ANNUAL REPORT2017

Review of the Year

ANUK inspection

Residents’ comments

Andrew, Gordon and Naraindra

Value for Money

Accounts

Board, Committees and staff

CONTENTS

Review of the Year

ANUK inspection

Residents’ comments

Andrew, Gordon and Naraindra

Value for Money

Accounts

Board, Committees and staff

CONTENTS

ZEBRA

2016/17 was a year of consolidation and rebuilding of our cash reserves after the completion of our first new development at Anson and Carleton Roads, Tufnell Park, N7. The final phase of that scheme, two new 2 bed flats at Carleton Road, had been let from January 2016.The whole scheme has now been seamlessly assimilated into our stock. The flats are extremely popular with residents, admired by fellow providers of student housing and have been entered for two RIBA design awards. We’ve learnt a number of new skills as a result – the most interesting is probably how one maintains green roofs!

To celebrate the successful completion of this scheme, Cristian Leon, Cultural Attaché at the Chilean Embassy, officially opened the building complex for us in early September. This also recognised the fact that of the 26 flats at the scheme, almost a third had been let to Chilean families. We let flats on the basis of the length of time people have been on our waiting list, and this reflects the popularity of London as a destination for Chileans, and the strength of word of mouth publicity.

We continued our programme of re-investing in our homes and we have updated our stock condition survey to take account of what we’d achieved within the programme, and to determine future priorities. In particular, we continued to renew older kitchens and bathrooms, upgrade electrical systems, and improve fire safety. And where we could really add to the quality of our accommodation, we also changed the layouts of flats. Two examples of this were at Flat E, Carleton Road and Flat 9, Anson Road. Both had been untouched by the work carried out there, and they have now been beautifully and tastefully modernised and improved. We also completed the refurbishment of the common areas at Sentosa House, 125/127 Richmond Avenue, N1 and started the refurbishment of the common areas at Impala. Works included, rewiring, new lighting, re-decoration and renewal of floor coverings and at Sentosa the installation of a new WC.

We fitted wireless broadband into all our accommodation. Residents do not now need a phone line to access broadband. At £18 per month, it’s a very good deal and by the end of the year over 75% of residents had subscribed. We also re-fitted all our laundries with new equipment and redecorated them. Residents now pay for the laundry service electronically, and we charge about half the price of most commercial laundries.

Zebra sets its rent levels at 70-80% of the “low” market and this year we had a general rent increase of 1.2% from April 2016. We have had no bad debts in the last five years. We had a 54% turnover of stock, with a rent loss for voids of £17,328 (2016 £18,664), a really very good performance. Demand for our housing continues to be very strong. Stock turnover was reasonably evenly spread over the year with slightly more change in the middle two quarters.

We recorded a turnover of £1,660k (compared with £1,562k in 2016) and a record surplus of £410k (compared with £208k in 2016). Our cash position changed from £58k to £199k.

We had fourteen social programme events over the course of the year. These included the annual garden party and two conducted tours of the Houses of Parliament. There were also numerous and varied theatre visits including Brecht’s Threepenny Opera at the National, Billy Elliott, Amadeus, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, The Play that goes Wrong, the Glass Menagerie, Travesties, Michael Morpurgo’s Running Wild at Regents Park, The Woman in Black and the annual family show which this year was Peter Pan at the National. We also tried something new and organised a trip to the National Gallery to see the Michael Angelo and Sebastiano exhibition. The trips are at subsidised rates, and attended by residents from all properties. We have a number of good contacts for cheaper tickets, so we’ve been able to increase the number of events but kept our costs constant. Uptake by residents increased in the year.

RESIDENT SATISFACTIONWe are due to carry out a full resident opinion/satisfaction survey in 2017/8 (we do this every 2 years). However, we always carry out regular small scale surveys around basic services. At the end of the year they showed 100% satisfaction with cleaning and maintenance, and we had 225 applicants on our waiting list – a strong measure of the quality and value for money of our accommodation and services

REVIEW OF THE YEAR

ZEBRA

ZEBRA

ZEBRA

Every two years, our student housing accreditation organisation, ANUK, send their inspectors to look at all aspects of our operation. This includes site visits to selected residences. This year, the inspector visited Sentosa, N1 and Anson/Carleton, N7, as well as looking at all of our policies, our website, our orientation procedures, and information that we give to our residents. They look at our application process, our lettings process, staff and wardens training programmes and health and safety procedures. They also look at our performance, policies, procedures and methods measured against a self-assessment. Inspectors meet and discuss Zebra with current residents.

We’re proud to say that, for the second inspection cycle in a row, we have received a letter of congratulations from the Chair of ANUK’s Audit Committee, praising the Association on its performance, and confirming that none of the areas covered by the assessment gave cause for concern. The inspector was impressed with the overall quality of our accommodation, our procedures and practices, information that we give to our residents, and the support we offer, and the commitment of our staff to our service.

ANUK INSPECTION

ZEBRA

I heard about Zebra from a colleague at the Bartlett School of Architecture, who had lived here before. When I saw the flat and the area for the first time, I couldn’t believe how beautiful and peaceful both the neighbourhood and the flat looked. I have been living here for four months now and everything is exactly as it seemed and as I had imagined; it feels like living in a dreamy quiet place, which is walking distance from the heart of London.

Many thanks for all. I do really appreciate Zebra Housing. ZH has been a light in the dark market of housing in London. IFIGENEIA LIANGI IMPALA HOUSE NW1

Coming to study in London was all about discovering this amazing city- its wonderful culture, environment, and people. Zebra has made all of this possible. It’s because of Zebra we had the privilege to live in one of the most amazing neighbourhoods in London and meet its culture and community. The Zebra staff have been the best landlords we have ever had! Always available and attentive to our every need or request, and always with a smile. Zebra will always be a vital ingredient of our London experience, for which we will ever be thankful LIOR GILO AND FAMILY – SENTOSA HOUSE N1

I serve as the Dean of Students at an American university, and recently had the privilege of leading a group of my students on a Study Abroad trip to the UK.

As a Zebra House (South Kensington) Alumni, it was wonderful to be recently back in the old neighborhood and to drop into the Zebra Offices at 5-13 Glendower Place. It was so lovely to be back in the building where so much of my own and my family’s “formative years” took place, i.e. academically, relationally, spiritually, and as a first home of our beloved daughter, Sophia Grace, who was born at the Chelsea-Westminster Hospital during our stay there.

Our experience at the South Kensington property with four walls and a roof over our head was far more than an encounter with bricks and mortar, whilst I was in graduate school at King’s College. Number 30 on the top floor was our home, where a young couple from a foreign country were able to comfortably and confidently make a place of belonging - a home where we would bring our first born child into the world. If for no other reason, Zebra and particularly this location, and seeing the friendly staff at the bottom of our lift everyday, will forever be close to our hearts.

However, more so, the entire facility from top to bottom was our rhythm and our place of belonging in the city. From 5-13 Glendower Place we had easy access to shops, great restaurants, a Saturday farmers market, an international community of friends at Holy Trinity Brompton Church - Onslow Square, the Tube, the river, a gym to workout, walks through Hyde Park, a place to study. I couldn’t image a better place to have lived in the city.

In sum, I suspect there are moments in the life of a Board that oversees a charity like Zebra, when the sale of a building in a high-rent district like South Kensington and the funds it could generate seems appealing. However, as an alumni of Zebra - Glendower Place, it is my best hope and prayer that your work and this location will be around for generations. The experience my family and I had there is truly hard to fully capture in words. I trust many other Alumni families could say the same. The place captured and shaped meaning in our lives that we will be forever grateful for.

To the Board, the office staff, the facilities maintenance team, Maria, Sophia, and I, extend to all of you our deepest thanks and gratitude. I hope this note renews your awareness that the work you do goes way beyond bricks and mortar, you are in the business of shaping thought leaders, individuals and families on a sacred journey of discovery, you are the hosts and Ambassadors of a nation. ADAM BARRON – ALUMNI JEROME RESIDENT

RESIDENTS COMMENTS

ANDREW, NARAINDRA AND GORDON

ANDREWI was born in Nairobi in September 1960 and I suppose that’s where my connection with Zebra really began. My parents had moved to Kenya because my father was involved with the Capricorn Africa Society, which sought to promote multi-racial rule in Kenya and Rhodesia. Zebra was the UK offshoot of Capricorn which started in 1959 with the purchase of one property in Marloes Road by a few generous and farsighted supporters with a view to housing Commonwealth students in central London. My father joined Zebra on our return from Africa in 1961 and, having been brought up discussing all things Zebra over the years, I was only too happy to become involved when my father retired from Zebra in 1984.

I greatly enjoyed my long association with Zebra Housing and am pleased still to be involved with Zebra Trust. As a barrister specialising in commercial law, I was able to help with some of the big housing decisions that we had to take over the years, foremost among them being the sale of Zebra properties purchased in those early days. They had become very valuable but were increasingly expensive to maintain and really needed to be redeveloped.

Jerome House, the old Aban Court Hotel bought in 1964, was the first to be sold. We arranged a swap with a developer who refurbished the new Jerome House in Glendower Place to our specification. Then we sold the property in Marloes Road and after careful searching for suitable alternatives have used the proceeds to purchase modern up to date properties in North London which now provide fantastic, affordable accommodation to students and their families.

While we have toyed with the idea of merging with a larger housing association, for the time being we have chosen to stay small and have retained a family atmosphere, with a loyal and dedicated staff to help students and their families. The Zebra parties have always been huge fun with a great array of international cuisine ensuring that any dietary resolutions are rapidly broken!

For me what has made Zebra special is its ethos and the people that I have met and worked with over the years. Who knows what the future will hold? I firmly believe that Zebra is now well placed to provide accommodation to an increasing number of overseas students in the years ahead.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to three of our longest serving Board members, Andrew Sutcliffe, Gordon Stevens and Naraindra Maharaj. Andrew’s Dad was one of Zebra’s founders and Andrew was a Board member for over 25 years, and remains a member of the Zebra Trust. Both Gordon and Naraindra served as Chairs of the Zebra Board. Gordon’s association with Zebra goes back to the 1980s, firstly with the Zebra Trust and then as a Board member for Zebra Housing Association for almost 25 years. Naraindra first became involved with Zebra when he and his wife rented a flat at Jerome House as post –grad students in London. Soon after they left their flat, Naraindra joined the Board. All three have made a huge contribution to Zebra, and we thank them for their considerable service to the Association.

But we’ve also recruited two new Board members, Roland Shanks and Alexandra Vougia. And Henrik Lonberg has re-joined the Board after a short sabbatical. Roland works for the University of London in their student housing directorate, Alex teaches at the Architectural Association, School of Architecture and Henrik is a practicing architect. Both Alex and Henrik are former residents. We are also planning to recruit a new member with specialist knowledge of development finance.

Here are some of Andrew, Naraindra and Gordon’s memories of Zebra.

NARAINDRAMy wife and I discovered Zebra in 1996, one year after we arrived in London to further our studies. She was accepted at Imperial College to undertake a PhD in Finance and I was at King’s College London to undertake a Masters in Law and then to study for the Bar. Once we graduated we sadly had to leave Zebra. We then adopted London as our home and this we owe, in part, to the kindness and hospitality of Zebra.

At the beginning of our Zebra life we were welcomed by Heidi and Steve and enjoyed our living accommodation at Jerome House. During our stay at Jerome, I was appointed student member of the Board at Zebra. After we left Jerome House I then became a Board member and subsequently became the Chair of the Board. After I stepped down as Chair I stayed on the Board until earlier this year when I resigned due to family and other commitments. However, I do pop into the office from time to time to say hello to the staff and have a coffee with them. During my tenure at Zebra I have seen the organisation grow from strength to strength without losing its core beliefs, that is, providing affordable accommodation to post graduate overseas students in a very respectful, caring and hospitable manner. The staff are exemplary and in all of my working years in the commercial world in different organisations, it is my considered view that you would not find better staff anywhere.

Zebra is very close to my heart and I feel very proud to have been a part of the Zebra family. The ethos, culture and all round good natured spirit of Zebra is a shining example for all such organisations to follow. I will continue my friendship with Zebra and wish the staff and the Board my best wishes for the continued growth and excellence.

GORDONI first became aware of Zebra in a small village in the Cotswolds. We met some African student visitors who were guests at the Manor house. The house belonged to the family of Jeannine Bartosik the driving force behind the creation of Zebra. The visitors were a part of Jeannine’s vision to not only provide affordable accommodation for African students but to give them a broad experience of life in the UK. An organisation, “Friends of Zebra” was created which included her own family. I was most impressed with the concept but at that time couldn’t contribute as my job was about to send me abroad.Eventually we returned to the UK--I had stayed in touch with Zebra & Jeannine’s family--& was invited to join Zebra.

Zebra was doing a splendid job but was very short of resources. It was suggested we merge with another organisation & spent many months in negotiations never quite succeeding. Eventually we bit the bullet and sold some properties which enabled us to fully manage the remainder. At the time it was a hard, even bitter decision but retrenching to a somewhat smaller operation produced the very healthy and growing Zebra that we enjoy at this time.

I should add that during this, somewhat painful, period Jeannine was kept closely involved and fully understood and approved of the actions we took. She was delighted that a somewhat sickly operation--but always supporting its student tenants--was moving onto a firmer base.

Living and studying in the centre of one of the most expensive cities of the world, and very often starting their families when they are here, is a real challenge to our residents. Providing them with value for money housing and services is one of their paramount concerns. And Zebra’s remit goes beyond this. Not only do we want their academic career in London to be a success but we want them to truly enjoy their stay in the city, to understand and appreciate its remarkable culture and diversity, and to want to return either by doing business here or as a tourist visiting old friends.

DELIVERING ON OUR PLANS

We’ve made progress in key areas of our 2015-2018 business plan

MAINTENANCE COSTSFire equipment servicing is now carried out by a member of Zebra staff and we are making savings of £10-£15k pa. Additionally we’ve been able to embark on a programme of upgrading all our fire detection equipment at a much cheaper cost than would otherwise have been possible. We’ve also begun to get our maintenance team to carry out more major works – particularly kitchen and bathroom refurbishments. This means we are spending less with building contractors.

BUSINESS GROWTHWe are now working on a major £9m redevelopment of Jerome House. This will provide an additional 8 units but all other flats will be completely refurbished, we’ll replace 8 rooms with shared facilities with self- contained units, make far better use of space and this will all be contained in a much more environmentally friendly building – which of course will be a lot cheaper to run. But we are at least 2 years away from realising this.

EFFICIENT USE OF EXISTING FINANCE AND PROPERTYWe invested our reserves and cash in our Tufnell Park redevelopment. However in the last year we’ve generated £140k cash, our operating surplus has increased from £208k to £410k and as a % of turnover that’s 25% – an improvement from 12%. This has enabled us to embark on the extremely large project of re-roofing Jeannine House and will serve us in good stead for future development.

MAXIMISING STAFF RESOURCESWe’ve been able to reduce staffing costs by re-organising our Finance section. We now need less senior staff input and we should see a cost reduction in this area of between 5-10%.

IMPROVING VALUE FOR MONEY SERVICES TO RESIDENTS

In the course of the year, we’ve been able to install wireless broadband in all flats. For just £18 per month residents now get WiFi. This means that they don’t have to get tied into an expensive contract with a supplier and don’t need a ‘phone line either. Initially we’ve offered the service on a voluntary basis but as we re-let flats the service will be become part of our standard package. However, 75% of residents have already opted to move to our service.

FUTURE PLANSIn the coming year, we are going to reorganise our maintenance service to get more out of existing resources. We are going to install more CCTV to improve security for residents, and start the programme of updating fire detection equipment and emergency lighting.

We’ll continue to examine cost sharing, work towards a 20% return on our buildings, and get to a position of absolute clarity on our redevelopment plans with a formal, fully costed programme agreed by the Board.

And finally this year we will move our resident survey to “survey monkey” making it more accessible and to improve feedback.

VALUE FOR MONEY

ACCOUNTS

2017 2016 £ £TURNOVER 1,660,615 1,562,087 Operating costs (1,250,000) (1,353,787) OPERATING SURPLUS 410,615 208,300 Interest receivable 7 2,264Interest and financing costs (73,382) (19,957) Total comprehensive income and expenditure for the year 337,240 190,607

2017 2016 £ £TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Housing properties, at depreciated cost 9,394,831 9,451,729Other fixed assets 19,520 12,334 TOTAL TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS 9,414,351 9,464,063 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 37,631 25,191Cash at bank and in hand 161,983 32,688 199,614 57,879 CREDITORS: amounts falling due within one year (505,457) (509,753)

NET CURRENT ASSETS / (LIABILITIES) (305,843) (451,874) TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 9,108,508 9,012,189CREDITORS: amounts falling due after one year (2,353,618) (2,594,538) NET ASSETS 6,754,890 6,417,651 CAPITAL AND RESERVES Called up share capital 10 11Revenue reserves 6,754,880 6,417,640 6,754,890 6,417,651

A full set of audited accounts, which received an unqualified audit opinion, are available on written request to the Secretary of Zebra Housing Association.

* The 2015 accounts have been reated as FRS102 has been adopted

Statement of comprehensive Income For The Year Ended 31 March 2017

Statement of financial position as at 31 March 2017

2017 2016 £ £TURNOVER 1,660,615 1,562,087 Operating costs (1,250,000) (1,353,787) OPERATING SURPLUS 410,615 208,300 Interest receivable 7 2,264Interest and financing costs (73,382) (19,957) Total comprehensive income and expenditure for the year 337,240 190,607

2017 2016 £ £TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Housing properties, at depreciated cost 9,394,831 9,451,729Other fixed assets 19,520 12,334 TOTAL TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS 9,414,351 9,464,063 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 37,631 25,191Cash at bank and in hand 161,983 32,688 199,614 57,879 CREDITORS: amounts falling due within one year (505,457) (509,753)

NET CURRENT ASSETS / (LIABILITIES) (305,843) (451,874) TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 9,108,508 9,012,189CREDITORS: amounts falling due after one year (2,353,618) (2,594,538) NET ASSETS 6,754,890 6,417,651 CAPITAL AND RESERVES Called up share capital 10 11Revenue reserves 6,754,880 6,417,640 6,754,890 6,417,651

A full set of audited accounts, which received an unqualified audit opinion, are available on written request to the Secretary of Zebra Housing Association.

* The 2015 accounts have been reated as FRS102 has been adopted

Statement of financial position as at 31 March 2017

Our Board

Alison Ahearn Chair of Board and a member of Audit and Risk and Development Committees Bola Adesoga Treasurer and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee and member of Development CommitteeRichard Kennedy Vice Chair of Board and Chair of Development CommitteePaul Van Driessche Board memberNaraindra Maharaj Board memberGordon Stevens Board memberEmily Orme Board and member of Audit and Risk CommitteeRoland Shanks Co-opted Board Member (from 2016)

Our Senior Staff

Peter Gray Chief ExecutiveSteve Musham Operations ManagerAlison Young Head of FinanceHeidi Southren Office and Projects Manager

BOARD COMMITTEES AND STAFF