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Unity Homes and Enterprise for SME of the Year

The Leeds-based BME housing association have also been nominated for Best Customer Experience at this year’s Northern Housing Awards.

‘It is a wonderful achievement to be shortlisted for two Northern Housing Awards, particularly after winning Team of the Year in 2024,’ Cedric Boston, Chief Executive of Unity Homes and Enterprise explained. ‘We are absolutely committed to high standards in all areas of activity, with customer services at the top of our priority list.’

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‘For example, working alongside housing officers, our Employment Services and Enterprise team supports unemployed people in hard-to-reach communities find jobs, set up a business, become self-employed, access training and education opportunities or work as a community volunteer,’ he continued.

‘We are proud of what we do and delighted that these efforts have resulted in recognition from the Northern Housing Awards.’

The two awards the organisation, which currently manages around 1,400 properties in Leeds, has been nominated for include Best

Alongside being nominated for Best Customer Experience, the organisation’s not-for-profit subsidiary Unity Enterprise (UE), which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has been shortlisted for SME of the Year.

‘UE is relatively unique as an SME connected to a BME association. Our mission is to support and enable people living in BME communities to start up their own sustainable business,’ Adrian Green, Manager of UE said. ‘This includes the provision of holistic business support to fledging entrepreneurs who would otherwise not have the opportunity, a wide package of support and assistance to help tenants whose businesses are struggling, and access to our innovation hub to enable people to launch and develop their business ventures.’

The nominees for this year’s awards were unveiled towards the end of last week, of which Manningham Housing Association – another West Yorkshire housing provider – were hailed in a number of categories. The winners are set to be announced on Thursday 1st May at a ceremony held at The Point in Old Trafford, Manchester. 

Photo by tommao wang via UnSplash

In related news:

Manningham Housing Association dominates Northern Housing Awards

A distant memory: Government’s target to deliver 1.5 million homes

Emily Whitehouse
Writer and journalist for Newstart Magazine, Social Care Today and Air Quality News.
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