Innisfree Housing Association was established in response to the disadvantage and discrimination faced by the Irish community in London, and the majority of Innisfree's residents come from this community. It was formed in 1985 and was registered by the Housing Corporation in 1989. It is a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) association.

Innisfree owns just over 300 general needs homes and has more than 20 in management for partner associations, pending acquisition. There is a development pipeline of more than 100 properties. In addition, the association owns a sheltered scheme for 25 Irish elders which also includes almost 40 supported bedspaces. The association provides floating support for 40 tenants in Brent & Camden.

The majority of Innisfree's stock is in the London Boroughs of Brent, Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Haringey. Innisfree works with a number of partners including Community, Family Mosaic, Octavia, Metropolitan, Newlon and Network.

Innisfree is targeting its future operations to the north and west London regions, focusing in particular on boroughs with large Irish populations. High demand for housing exists in its operational areas, with a similar trend projected in the future. Services are tailored to the needs of the Irish community and influenced by the regular research carried out on behalf of the association. The association benefits from a staff team which is predominantly Irish and able to offer a cultural understanding to the services which it provides. The team has the flexibility to incorporate the association's planned growth, including the development of additional support services.

Continuous improvement at Innisfree is promoted through its membership of the Solomon group of housing associations which benchmark and work together on best value initiatives. Future benchmarking will be enhanced by joint work with the SolFed group.

Viable – Regulatory Code part 1

The association meets the expectations set out in the Regulatory Code in terms of financial viability.

Housing Corporation Assessment

Historically, Innisfree's financial position has been strong. This continues to be evident in the association’s current five year forecast, even though it is looking to use its capacity to increase in size.

Innisfree is forecasting a strong operating margin throughout the period. This enables Innisfree to service a greater level of interest payments, and hence increase its debt to pay for the additional homes. For Innisfree, in common with all expanding associations, there are operational as well as environmental risks. The association needs to continue to ensure that it has sufficient management controls to mitigate any exposure in relation to its new programme and treasury management.

Innisfree expects to achieve target rents by the 2010 deadline.

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