Cottsway
Cottsway is a UK housing association providing social rented and shared ownership homes across West Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire, serving over 6,000 households with a £450 million+ asset base.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersWitney, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Cottsway firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cottsway
- Legal name
- Cottsway Housing Association
- Website
- https://cottsway.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Cottsway is a UK housing association providing social rented and shared ownership homes across West Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire, serving over 6,000 households with a £450 million+ asset base.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cottsway industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Housing and Affordable Residential Property
- SIC
- Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513), Real Estate Operators (No Developers) & Lessors (6510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)
Keywords
Where Cottsway is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Witney
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cottsway business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Social Housing Rents: Core revenue from renting approximately 6,000 homes to tenants. Most homes are rented properties. Rent payments collected via Direct Debit, phone, online portal, and PayPoint
- Shared Ownership: Selling shares (starting at 40%) in properties to buyers who cannot afford open market purchase. Customers purchase shares and pay rent on remaining portion. Also includes staircasing (buying more shares) and resales
- Service Charges: Charges for communal cleaning, grounds maintenance, and other shared services. Applied to properties with communal areas
- Shared Ownership Fees: Reservation fee of £500 for new-build shared ownership properties. Administration charges for resales. Legal fees and valuation costs for staircasing
- Buildings Insurance (Leaseholders): Buildings insurance arranged for shared owners and leaseholders, with cost passed through based on property size
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Individual learning grants for Cottsway customers |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Neighbourhood activities funding |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Community projects funding |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Environmental projects funding |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Shared ownership reservation fee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Cottsway product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cottsway is a non-profit housing association that provides affordable rented homes and shared ownership properties across West Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. Tenancy management, rent collection, repairs and maintenance, home safety inspections, mutual exchange and community services are delivered to roughly 6,000 households, supported by the My Cottsway digital portal and app and a Community Fund grant programme.
Product overview
Cottsway is a housing association providing a comprehensive range of affordable housing services across West Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire. The core offering consists of rented social housing and shared ownership properties. The My Cottsway digital platform serves as the central customer portal and mobile app, enabling online rent payments, repair requests, and account management. Supporting services include 24/7 repairs and maintenance, mutual exchange via Homeswapper, community services (cleaning, grounds maintenance), home safety inspections, and the Community Fund grant programme. Tenant engagement is supported through satisfaction measurement programmes and a Scrutiny Group. Cottsway manages over 6,000 homes with a focus on digital service delivery complemented by traditional phone and in-person support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- My Cottsway: Customer portal and mobile app for tenants, shared owners and garage renters to manage their tenancy, make payments, request repairs and update details.
Products and services
- Social Housing Rentals Affordable rented homes provided across West Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire, with applications through local council housing registers and choice-based lettings schemes. Approximately 6,000 rented homes in the portfolio.
- Shared Ownership Part-buy, part-rent home ownership scheme with shares starting at 40%, available as new-build or resale properties in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Wiltshire, with staircasing to increase ownership share over time. Open to buyers earning £80,000 or less.
- Repairs and Maintenance Services 24-hour, 365-day repairs service categorised into emergency (24-hour response), urgent (5 working days) and routine (20 working days) repairs, covering structure, exterior and interior parts of homes, with SMS appointment notifications.
- Payment Services Multiple payment methods for rent and service charges including online via My Cottsway portal, Direct Debit, automated 24-hour telephone payment line, and PayPoint cash/card/cheque payments at Post Offices and participating shops.
- My Cottsway Digital Portal and Mobile App Customer portal and mobile app enabling tenants, shared owners and garage renters to view rent balances, make payments, request routine repairs, view repair history, access tenancy agreements, set up Direct Debit, download statements and update contact details online.
- Mutual Exchange Home swapping service allowing Cottsway customers to exchange homes with other social housing residents across the UK via the Homeswapper platform and Swaptracker application management.
- Community Fund Grant funding programme offering up to £5,000 for environmental projects, up to £2,500 for community projects, up to £500 for neighbourhood activities and up to £250 for individual learning and skills development, supporting environmental, social and educational initiatives in Cottsway's operating areas.
- Community Services Estate services including communal area cleaning, grounds maintenance, estate inspections and community clear-ups to support neighbourhoods and maintain shared spaces across Cottsway's housing stock.
- Home Safety Services Safety services including annual gas and oil servicing, electrical safety checks, fire safety, Legionella and water safety, asbestos and radon testing, aids and adaptations, stairlifts, and mobility scooter storage for tenants.
- Our House Project Shared accommodation programme for single, under-35s on out-of-work benefits in West Oxfordshire, providing low-rent rooms with bills included and tailored support with training, apprenticeships and an enterprise scheme.
- Complaints and Feedback Handling Two-stage formal complaints procedure with Stage 1 aiming for resolution within 10 working days and Stage 2 involving senior manager review within 20 working days, with independent escalation to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
- Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) Reporting Customer satisfaction tracking programme reporting 12 perception measures and 10 management information measures to the Regulator of Social Housing, with quarterly and annual survey results published online.
- Social Housing Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Retrofits Whole-house retrofit programme funded by government decarbonisation grants (£1.3m in 2023, £2.2m in 2025) to improve energy efficiency across Cottsway homes, targeting 95% of properties at EPC C or above by March 2028.
Quantifiable outcome
- 88% customer satisfaction overall
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Cottsway
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cottsway technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature3 records
Cottsway partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Aspire OxfordshirecorePartnership with Aspire and West Oxfordshire District Council for the 'Our house' project providing shared accommodation and employment support for single under-35s on out-of-work benefits in West Oxfordshire. Includes support workers, training, apprenticeships, and enterprise scheme
- Homes EnglandcoreGovernment housing delivery partner supporting Cottsway's development programme. Cottsway works in partnership with Homes England to deliver around 240 homes per year for affordable rent and shared ownership through Section 106 agreements, joint ventures, and land-led opportunities
- Local Councils (West Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire)corePartnership with local authorities for housing allocation through council housing registers and choice-based lettings. Cottsway works with councils to meet local housing need and deliver properties in areas including West Oxfordshire, Cotswold District, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Swindon, and North Wiltshire
- John O'Conner Grounds Maintenance LtdminorGrounds maintenance contractor providing grass cutting, hedge trimming, litter removal, and other grounds services across most Cottsway areas. Online portal shows scheduled visits
- Cirencester Garden MaintenanceminorGrounds maintenance contractor providing services in Cirencester areas including Arlington Fields, Bibury; Jeffries Court, Cirencester; Jenners Yard, Cricklade; Churnbridge Row, North Cerney
- Carter & Faraday AssociatesminorCleaning contractor for communal spaces at Cottsway flats and apartment blocks. Provides fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, and annual cleaning services
- A1 MaintenanceminorCleaning contractor for Cottsway communal areas
- Thistle Insurance ServicesminorPreferred supplier of contents insurance through the My Home Contents Insurance Scheme, offered in partnership with Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited. Regulated by FCA, affiliated with National Housing Federation
- Acuity ResearchminorIndependent market research company conducting quarterly customer perception surveys and post-transaction surveys for Cottsway's Tenant Satisfaction Measures
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cottsway competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Platform Housing: Large Midlands-focused housing association (~50,000 homes). Comparable operating model and asset mix but concentrated further north, so limited direct competition in Cottsway's southern territory.
Broad incumbents
- Peabody: Major UK housing association and community developer (~80,000+ homes). Comparable social-housing and shared-ownership offering, but with broader geographic reach and larger development pipeline than Cottsway.
- Clarion Housing: Largest UK housing association (~125,000 homes) operating nationally. Comparable business model but at much greater scale; useful as a benchmark for what scaled-up Cottsway operations could look like.
- Optivo: Large housing association (~45,000 homes) formed from the AmicusHorizon and Optivo merger. Comparable mix of social rent, shared ownership, and supported housing, with similar investment in digital tenant services.
Direct peers
- GreenSquareAccord: Housing association formed from the merger of GreenSquare and Accord, operating across the West of England and Midlands. Operates in overlapping West-of-England geographies with a comparable affordable-housing and shared-ownership model.
- Aster Group: Housing association operating across southern and central England with ~33,000 homes. Comparable mix of social-rent and shared-ownership stock, similar development pipeline, and a focus on energy-efficiency retrofit of existing stock.
- Longhurst Group: Mid-sized housing association operating in the Midlands and East of England with ~23,000 homes. Comparable operating model and regulatory profile, providing a useful size-comparable peer for benchmarking.
- Sovereign Housing Association: Major southern-English housing association managing around 85,000+ homes across the South West, South, and Home Counties. Directly comparable operating model covering social rent, shared ownership, and market sale with similar regulatory exposure.
- LiveWest: Large South West England housing association operating across Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall with around 40,000+ homes. Operates in overlapping geographies and provides similar social-rent, shared-ownership, and supported-housing services, making it a directly comparable regional peer.
- Bromford: One of the largest UK housing associations with ~46,000 homes across the Midlands and South West, including Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Comparable diversified stock, similar decarbonisation and development programmes, and similar regulatory framework.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cottsway social profiles
Digital presenceCottsway compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Cottsway financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cottsway leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles19 records
Cottsway funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cottsway M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cottsway
What does Cottsway do?
Cottsway is a non-profit housing association that provides affordable rented homes and shared ownership properties across West Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. Tenancy management, rent collection, repairs and maintenance, home safety inspections, mutual exchange and community services are delivered to roughly 6,000 households, supported by the My Cottsway digital portal and app and a Community Fund grant programme.
Is Cottsway a public or private company?
Cottsway is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Cottsway founded?
Cottsway was founded in 2001. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cottsway based?
Cottsway is headquartered in Witney, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cottsway make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Social Housing Rents are the primary driver. The others are shared Ownership, service Charges, shared Ownership Fees and buildings Insurance (Leaseholders).
Who are Cottsway's main competitors?
Platform Housing is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Peabody, Clarion Housing and Optivo. Direct peers are GreenSquareAccord, Aster Group, Longhurst Group, Sovereign Housing Association, LiveWest and Bromford.
Does Cottsway have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cottsway.
What industry is Cottsway in?
Cottsway's product category is Social Housing and Affordable Residential Property. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAC, Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts). Its SIC code is 6513.