Today L&Q reports an annual surplus of £180 million. Some people are bound to question how a charity can make so much money and ask if we are losing sight of our charitable roots.

Fifty one years ago a South East London rector got together with a group of business people and created L&Q. Since then we have combined a strong social mission with a desire to operate on sound business principles – driving efficiency, taking measured risks, delivering the best possible service at the lowest possible cost and investing in homes and communities.

Today our annual surplus is supporting a £2.3 billion 13,000 home development programme. Half of the homes we build are for sale and the profit we make will be used to build the other half at more affordable levels – not at 80% of market rent as the new system allows us but at levels we believe are truly affordable.

People question what will happen when the housing bubble bursts – will this ‘cross subsidy’ model grind to a halt? Housing associations are long term investors in property. When house prices rise we can make a profit and use it to build more affordable homes. When the market crashes we can take advantage of lower prices and buy more homes for rent. Our model is counter cyclical, at least in part; the trick is not to spend more than we can afford.

And it’s not just about new homes. We have set aside £2 billion to invest in our existing homes and £100 million to support training and employment initiatives though our L&Q Foundation.

As our annual surplus grows, so will our commitment to invest. Over the next few years our annual surplus will exceed £200 million and our commitment to new homes will grow from £2.3 billion to £4 billion and beyond. Today we are building more affordable homes than ever before. We are determined to do as much as we can to tackle the housing crisis but we will not place our social housing assets at risk. And we will not lose sight of our social mission.

I work for L&Q because I want to make the place where I live a better place. Along with 1,300 other L&Q people I carry a torch which was lit fifty one years ago by our founders and I will hand it over to my successor when the time comes. In the meantime we have a job to do.

Housing associations are independent social businesses. Guided by our social mission we can look beyond the current economic and political climate and focus on what is best for our residents and their communities over the long term. We can do more with a little help but there is so much we can do ourselves.

For L&Q austerity has been liberating and we will use the freedom we have found to deliver our social mission.