Sunderland housing group Gentoo vows to 'make a positive difference' amid 'deep concern' at the cost of living crisis

The statement came from affordable housing provider Gentoo which has joined the sponsors of the Sunderland Echo Business Excellence Awards.

And the Gentoo vow to continue making a ‘positive difference’ comes at a time when bosses predicted the worst of the cost of living crisis may yet be on the way.

Nigel Wilson, Chief Executive Officer at Gentoo Group said: “We’re proud to support the very first Sunderland Business Excellence awards by sponsoring the ‘Business in the Community’ category.

“These awards are a great way to recognise and celebrate the brilliant achievements of businesses and individuals in Sunderland.

“Good luck to all who have been shortlisted.”

As a registered provider of affordable housing, Gentoo provides vital housing to more than 60,000 people.

A statement from the housing provider said: “We believe that everyone deserves the right to live in a safe, secure and good quality home that they can afford and we’re proud to provide this to our tenants.

“This year, it’s more important than ever before that we continue to make a positive difference to our neighbourhoods, investing in services that deliver real social value. Services that help people live their best life possible and have a long-lasting impact on our people and communities.

“We are deeply concerned about the worsening cost of living crisis and the impact of this on tenants and colleagues. We know the worst is likely still to come.

“But, we want people to know that Gentoo is ready to deal with these challenges head on, and we are committed to supporting tenants in every way we can.”

Huge hikes in the cost of fuel and energy have ‘hit us all hard, and we have already started to see the impact of this on people’ said Gentoo.

But the statement added: “We will keep working with tenants through our various support services, such as Money Matters, and signposting them to partner organisations where additional advice and support can be gained.

“The massive increases in the cost of household energy have put even greater emphasis on our commitment to sustainability, climate change and the work we are doing to reduce tenants’ energy bills. We are improving the energy efficiency of our existing homes, and building new rented homes that are very energy efficient.”

The next stage in the Sunderland Echo Business Excellence Awards is to reveal the winners at our grand finals night at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on Thursday, November 17.

Gentoo joins a list of impressive backers of the awards.

They include Sunderland City Council, our partners in the competition as well as being the headline sponsors.

Also on board are the North East BIC, Chilli Mangoes, Marelli, Wilf Husband, Harrison and Brown, Thompson Waste, Gentoo, Sunderland University, The Stack, BGL, Audi, North East Ambition and Sunderland College.

We will have a media team at the awards night itself to make sure you keep up to date with the winners in each category.

And to cap the whole competition off, there will be post awards coverage which will feature interviews and photos with all of the winners.