Places for People

A UK social enterprise and property group of 20 plus companies that owns or manages over 245,000 properties and runs 98 leisure centres.

About Places for People

Places for People is a UK social enterprise, meaning a business that reinvests what it earns in its mission. It calls itself a placemaking and regeneration company with over 50 years of experience. The group is made up of more than twenty specialist companies. Its homes side includes affordable housing providers such as Places for People Homes and Places for People Living Plus (supported housing), and its property management side includes RMG and Touchstone. It also covers developers such as ModularWise and Brio Retirement Living, student housing under PfP Students, and fund management through PfP Capital. Its own site says it owns or manages over 245,000 properties and runs 98 leisure centres.

The group's mission, in its own words, is "to change lives by creating and supporting thriving Communities". An older annual report says it grew from providing affordable housing into a placemaking, regeneration, property investment and management company. Its "People Promises" are: do the right thing always; stay fired up and ready to grow; build One Community; be respectful and earn respect; and enjoy your work. It says it takes an approach called One Community, where everyone is welcome, important, supported and able to thrive.

Places for People works across the whole of the UK, including Scotland through Places for People Scotland, and in a 2019 report was working in 390 local authority areas. That report listed placemaking projects such as East Wick and Sweetwater in London, Park Hill in Sheffield, Smith's Dock in North Tyneside and Port Loop in Birmingham. Another part of the group, Places Leisure, runs leisure centres and health and wellbeing programmes. The group's latest figures show 11,300 people serving over half a million customers, according to the company.

The company says it values inclusion, respect and a shared purpose, and that it encourages curiosity and continuous learning. Those are its own claims. It runs a training programme called PfP Thrive, which offers technical and future skills training. Group Chief Executive David Cowans and Chairman Chris Phillips were named in the 2019 report, so check the current website to see who leads the group today.

Because the group is so varied, the jobs are varied too. Its pages mention property maintenance, leisure, affordable housebuilding and fund management, and a group like this also needs property managers, surveyors, development and planning staff, sales and marketing staff, leisure centre staff and instructors, and finance and technology teams. If you are interested in how towns and neighbourhoods are shaped, this is a company where housing, leisure and regeneration sit under one roof. Its own website is the place to read about each business in the group.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Affordable homes to rent, new homes to buy and supported housing.', 'title': 'Homes and supported living'}
• {'desc': 'Managing buildings through companies such as RMG and Touchstone.', 'title': 'Property management'}
• {'desc': 'Runs leisure centres and wellbeing programmes.', 'title': 'Places Leisure'}

Key facts

• More than twenty companies in the group (company site)
• Owns or manages more than 245,000 properties and runs 98 leisure centres (company careers page)
• 11,300 people serving over half a million customers (company careers page)
• Placemaking projects include Park Hill in Sheffield and Port Loop in Birmingham (2019 report)

Website: www.placesforpeople.co.uk