Finance Conference 2025: Unlocking the future of Wales' housing together

Bringing Wales’ housing finance leaders together for two days of insight and action to share solutions, unlock investment and secure the resources needed to deliver good quality affordable homes and empower thriving communities.

Tuesday 7th October

8.30am Registration and networking breakfast

9.30am Welcome and opening remarks - Sian Lloyd

9.45am Shifting ground: How global change is hitting home

The ground beneath our feet is shifting. From global inflationary pressures and volatile supply chains to the fiscal realities of achieving Net Zero, major international forces are reshaping our world. But these are not distant headlines; they are creating powerful local tides that directly impact construction costs, investment models, and communities across Wales.

Join us for a session that provides the essential economic context for this conference, exploring how the Welsh housing sector can not just navigate this shifting ground, but build upon it to lead the way forward.

10.30am Panel - Strategic finance in action: What's working in Wales and beyond

The economic theory is set. It's time for action. This dynamic panel drills down into the practical financial strategies turning Welsh housing ambitions into reality.

Featuring a Treasury advisor, a key institutional funder, and a sector-leading Finance Director, this session will share proven case studies and answer your critical questions on:

• Innovative funding: Unpacking the blended finance models that are succeeding.

• Effective partnerships: Forging public-private collaborations that deliver value for all.

• Measuring impact: How to prove social and environmental ROI to attract new investment.

Leave this session not just inspired, but equipped with actionable insights and proven financial models to apply within your own organisation.

In conversation with:

• Richard Conway, Centrus
• Terry McCullagh, Danske Bank
• Rhys Parry, Adra
• Howard Toplis, Tai Calon

11.15am Refreshments and networking

11.55am Future-proofing finance: Risk, resilience and regulation

In the pursuit of progress, ambition is vital. Confidence is essential. This session is dedicated to building that confidence by tackling the tough subjects of risk and regulation head-on.

We will transform these issues from sources of anxiety into areas of strategic control.

Our panel will provide actionable advice on:

• Scenario Planning: Moving from a reactive 'what if?' to a proactive 'what's next?'

• Stress-testing: Building financial plans that bend without breaking

• Climate & Regulation: Turning the biggest uncertainties into sources of competitive advantage

Leave with a 'can-do' mindset and the practical tools to lead your organisation through uncertainty with strength, foresight, and clarity.

12.40pm Lunch and networking

1.50pm Workshops

1) From damp and mould to digital threats: Quantifying the unquantifiable

A deep dive into the modern risk landscape. This isn't about interest rate swaps; it's about the financial and reputational cost of failing to address building safety, damp and mould, data breaches, and climate events like flooding. How do you model these risks? How do you insure against them? How do you communicate them to your board?

2) Funding innovation and project delivery

Making a business case for innovation - Accessing grants, pilots, and partnerships

3) Update from Welsh Government on the new finance model
with Sarah Cole

4) Internal audit
with BDO

3pm Refreshments and networking

3.40pm Panel - Navigating the storm: Economic and political uncertainty

A confluence of economic and political pressures is creating a challenging financial landscape for housing associations across Wales. The UK continues to grapple with economic headwinds, including inflationary pressures on construction and maintenance costs, the ongoing cost-of living crisis for communities, and fluctuating interest rates impacting borrowing for new developments.

Compounding this is a dynamic political environment, both in Westminster and the Senedd, which can lead to shifts in housing priorities, funding allocations, and regulatory demands.

For Welsh housing associations, these broad challenges are further shaped by the specific policy direction of the Welsh Government, including its ambitious targets for decarbonisation and the development of new social housing.

This panel will explore the key financial implications of this uncertainty for Welsh housing associations and surface the key questions housing associations need to consider to ensure long-term sustainability and continued delivery of quality, affordable homes.

4.10pm Keynote - The Future is Now: Megatrends reshaping housing and communities in Wales
with Kitty Horlick

What are the global and local megatrends that will reshape how housing associations operate, finance, build, and serve communities in Wales over the next decade?

5.00pm - Networking, drinks reception and dinner

Wednesday 8th October

8.45am Registration and networking

9.30am - Morning coffee and recap

10.00am - Keynote: AI and the future for housing finance
with Guy Marshall

Explore how artificial intelligence is transforming housing finance by driving smarter decision-making, enhancing risk management, and unlocking new opportunities for affordability and efficiency.

This session will explore the latest AI innovations transforming lending, investment, and financial planning in the housing sector. Discover practical applications, emerging trends, and the challenges that housing finance professionals must navigate to leverage AI responsibly and effectively in creating sustainable, inclusive communities.

10.30am - Panel - Social value and impact investment: What investors want

In conversation with:

• Mathew Grenier, HACT
• Sharon Woodward, The Housing Finance Corporation
• Sophie Wint, Hedyn

11.15am - Refreshments and networking

11.55am - Workshops

1) Why Not Share Services? – Rethinking Collaboration in Welsh Housing (with Barcud Shared Services)

This session explores the transformative potential of sharing services within the Welsh housing sector. Rather than asking “Why should we share services?”, the conversation shifts to “Why shouldn’t we?”—challenging traditional assumptions and encouraging a mindset of collaboration, efficiency, innovation and resilience.

2) Pensions update with Quantum Advisory
3) The insurance environment with Gallagher
4) Tax update with Cubed Tax


1.05pm Fireside chat: The Finance Leader as Activist, Innovator, and Community Builder

1.35pm - Final reflections and close

1.50pm - Takeaway lunch and coffees

Accommodation

Please note CHC will not be arranging hotel room bookings.

We have been made aware that the Metropole Hotel is now fully booked for the night of Tuesday 7th October.

Below are some nearby accommodation options (Please note this does not constitute a recommendation from CHC):

• Commodore Hotel (2-minute walk from the Metropole) - Rooms available but only through booking.com, none available on their website.
• The Llanerch Inn (10 minute walk from the Metropole), rooms available on booking.com
• Highland Moors (0.4 miles from centre) - Rooms available on booking.com
• Hampton Hotel (0.7 miles from centre) - Rooms available on booking.com

If you are staying a little further out and need a taxi to reach the Metropole, you can get in touch with these local taxi companies:

George’s Taxi – 07498729724
Adeys Taxi – 01597822188