About us

We are a leading provider of housing and care services in south and mid Wales.

We employ nearly 1400 staff across the business and manage over 10,200 units of accommodation and over 2,300 units of care.

In 2012 our total Group income exceeded £52 million, an 8.5% increase from 2011.

Our business covers housing and support for all sectors of the community including:

• General rented properties.
• Social rented housing.
• Sheltered accommodation, extra care accommodation, residential care and home care services for people over 55.
• Specialist dementia care.
• Care and support services for a wide range of client groups including young people, families, ex-offenders, people with learning disabilities, people with physical disabilities, people with mental ill health, victims of domestic abuse and people with alcohol or substance misuse issues.
• Student accommodation in Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff and Swansea.
• Affordable homes for sale in south Wales, available through our Gŵyr Homes brand and developed in partnership with private developers. A range of purchase or rental options including shared ownership, retained equity and try before you buy are available.
• Commercial properties.
• The support of housing and tenant related charitable causes via the Gwalia Housing Trust.
• Tapestri, a cafe bar and bistro in the heart of Swansea which is run as a social enterprise.

1970s

In 1973 a group of local people and consultants founded Gwalia Housing Society Ltd to address the need for good quality, low cost housing in Wales. They undertook management of new building schemes and aimed to use older properties with redevelopment potential. In 1976, Brian Davies was appointed as Gwalia’s part time Chief Executive and in 1980 Tony Lewis succeeded him. Our current Chief Executive, Michael Williams was appointed on January 1st 1982.

1990s

As our work extended to include supportive housing and housing development we changed our name to Gwalia Housing Group and at the end of the 1990s, adopted charitable rules. Our name changed again in 2005 to reflect the fact that by then, supportive care was as much a specialist area of our business as housing.

As Grŵp Gwalia Cyf Ltd we have worked closely with other housing associations, voluntary organisations, universities, local authorities and the Welsh Government to meet the housing and social care needs of Welsh communities. We have a strong commitment to those communities and remain a not for profit business, reinvesting our profit into the services we provide.

Today

Over the years, we have expanded across Wales and in 2011/2012 our development spend exceeded £10 million, enabling us to build homes across Neath, Swansea, Carmarthen and Pembroke. We have gained lots of recognition for our innovative housing and community initiatives in Wales. 

Our core business remains as committed to meeting the need for good quality, low cost housing in Wales as it was in 1973 and we aim to deliver an efficient and effective service to our stakeholders.