A new investigation published by Corporate Watch, in collaboration with Good Jobs First, has uncovered evidence of soaring profits and burgeoning property portfolios among key subcontractors providing accommodation for asylum seekers.

The report, timed to coincide with Clearsprings Ready Homes’ latest annual accounts, reveals how Cromwood Ltd and NACCS Ltd – both major subcontractors for Clearsprings – have amassed significant property portfolios and paid out millions in dividends while historically providing substandard housing for people seeking asylum.

Dire conditions

As Corporate Watch wrote:

The plight of asylum seekers and other tenants in Cromwood properties is long-documented. In 2016, The Guardian first reported on overcrowded, filthy and dangerous conditions endured by 30 people seeking asylum crammed into a converted house in Hounslow. This was followed in 2018 by further reports of Cromwood renting out ‘micro-flats’ with fire safety risks in Croydon, and leasing illegally subdivided flats in Brent so small they violated regulations. In 2021, asylum seekers in Ruislip were subjected to cramped accommodation with rats, cockroaches, water leaks and damp, and reported that the company cut the power supply at night to save money.

In 2024, the parents of a baby girl who died at just 28 days old whilst living in a Manchester Cromwood flat with mould, damp and sewage leaks blamed the conditions for her death, and recounted the callous attempts of company staff to evict them in the weeks after. In 2025, a homeless family placed in temporary accommodation run by Cromwood in Oldham went to the local press about the freezing, damp and mouldy conditions they were forced to live in.

In 2020, Cromwood, this time subcontracting for Serco, was responsible for managing accommodation for asylum seekers on the former RAF base Coltishall in Norfolk. Once again, there were reports of poor conditions, before the site was eventually closed down in 2021.

Now, Corporate Watch has exposed soaring profits for these companies.

Private contractors are making a killing from asylum seekers

Corporate Watch found:

A ninefold increase in Cromwood’s profits in just three years, reaching £29m in 2024. It declared £22m in dividend payments the same year.
Both Cromwood and NACCS have built extensive portfolios of investment properties, appearing to profit further from public funds intended to support vulnerable migrants.
The owners of both companies have established dozens of new real estate firms since 2022, with evidence suggesting Cromwood’s owners rent properties to their own companies.
Theset Ltd, the leading shareholder of Stay Belvedere Hotels Ltd – a contractor removed from the asylum accommodation system for poor performance – continues to benefit from public money through its ownership of NACCS Ltd.

Corporate Watch estimates that Cromwood’s owners now control investment properties worth at least £126 million, while NACCS’s owner holds £34 million in assets as of March 2024.

Both subcontractors have faced repeated criticism for providing poor-quality, unsanitary accommodation, echoing findings in a cross-party Home Affairs Committee report published this week, which urged the government to introduce stronger oversight and review processes for subcontractors in the asylum system.

Clearsprings is another example of a company with a dire track record. As the Guardian reported:

Eighteen flats in Uxbridge, west London, housing dozens of asylum seekers, were found to be rife with damp, mould, water leaks and pest infestations. The Home Office admitted that the conditions “clearly fall short of the high standards we expect from our contractors”. Hillingdon council said conditions in the properties were under investigation.

A hostile environment

Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, said:

Asylum accommodation contracts have put refugees in dangerous housing, and they have divided towns. Meanwhile, the firms running them have pocketed huge amounts of money that could have been invested in communities.

Maia Kirby of Good Jobs First said:

Clearsprings is one of the most fined landlords in London, Wales and the south of England. Clearsprings and its subcontractors are making millions in public money whilst engaging in unlawful conduct such as overcrowding, disrepair and licensing offences.

Jawad Anjum from Migrants Organise, said:

Our members face a hostile environment from when they arrive, dealing with issues ranging from intimidation and bed bugs to overcrowding and medically unsuitable food. For those who are dispersed, the problems continue.

The full report can now be read here.

Featured image via the Canary