The Housing Network, a Luton-headquartered specialist that houses and supports some of the country’s most vulnerable people, those who are homeless, leaving prison, or living with mental ill health and addiction, has been named a finalist in The Blick Rothenberg Mid-Market Growth Business of the Year Award at the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards.
The shortlisting, announced in July 2026, recognises a business whose revenue rose from £51.9m to £63.3m in the last year, according to its entry. The company reports that it works with local councils and central government across more than 150 local authority areas, housing more than 5,500 residents every night in safe, compliant, fully furnished homes with trauma-informed, person-centred support, and describes itself as one of very few providers in its field operating at national scale. Winners across the awards programme will be announced at Grosvenor House, London, on 10 November 2026.
A national response to a national need
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government statistics show that 134,210 households were living in temporary accommodation in England on 31 December 2025. The Housing Network operates where the pressure is sharpest: residents with complex needs, stretched public budgets and a high regulatory bar on safety. Its answer, according to the business, is to pair private sector pace and discipline with genuine attention to the person behind every placement.
The company’s Active Opportunities Pathway is designed to move people from crisis into stable, independent living, at a lower direct cost to councils than the emergency accommodation they would otherwise rely on. According to the business, the model has been cited in government guidance as emerging best practice.
Housing people leaving prison
The Housing Network also reports that it is the UK’s largest provider of non-custodial accommodation for people leaving prison, holding almost 1,500 bedspaces in partnership with the Ministry of Justice. Someone released with nowhere to live is far more likely to reoffend, so a settled address and support in the first days after release carry real weight. The scale of this work, the company says, led to an invitation to give oral evidence to a House of Commons Justice select committee on rehabilitation.
Purpose written into governance
B Lab’s directory confirms that Centennial Property Limited, trading as The Housing Network, has held B Corp certification since July 2025, and the business is a Real Living Wage employer, with social purpose built into its governance and people practices. Details of its services are published on the company’s website. Its growth has also drawn external recognition; the company reports placing 23rd in The Sunday Times Fast Growth List 2026 and 200th in the FT1000, the Financial Times ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing companies.
The Housing Network now stands alongside the other contenders in the mid-market growth category, with the result to be revealed in November. Win or not, the company says the goal is unchanged: more people with a safe home and a real chance to move forward.
