The CGIUKI Awards celebrate the achievements of companies, teams, and individuals across the governance profession, recognising excellence in areas such as diversity & inclusion, ESG, innovation, and transformational projects.
ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance and measures how organisations operate responsibly and sustainably. Winning ESG Project of the Year recognises The Cambridge’s commitment to these principles.
The Society’s Rent to Home initiative, the only scheme of its kind in the UK, has been designed to help first time buyers who can afford to rent, but are unable to save a deposit to purchase their home.
Successful applicants, selected at random by ballot, can rent a newly refurbished property from The Cambridge for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years. During this time, if tenants are ready to purchase their own home, 70% of the rent they've paid will be returned to help towards the deposit on a mortgage with the mutual.
A recent success story illustrates the impact of Rent to Home: Sophie Rhead and Jamie Bladen, a young couple who were randomly selected by ballot in 2023, used the scheme to move into their first home. While renting, they got engaged, welcomed their first child, and reclaimed £24,570 of their rent to fund a deposit - achieving homeownership a year ahead of the scheme’s maximum three-year term.
Reflecting on the achievement, Tom Llewelyn, Company Secretary and Head of Governance at The Cambridge, said:
“Helping people have a home is at the heart of everything we do, and to see our Rent to Home initiative recognised on a national stage is an incredible honour and demonstrates the power of being a customer owned organisation. Most importantly, it’s great to see that what we’re doing is genuinely making a difference to our members, who, without our help, might otherwise be stuck in the rental cycle.
The awards ceremony - held on 4 November 2025 at the Royal Lancaster London - is the largest event of its kind in the UK and a true highlight of the governance social calendar.
For more information about how The Cambridge is helping people have a home visit www.cambridgebs.co.uk
Caption: Tom Llewelyn, Company Secretary and Head of Governance at The Cambridge
Credit: www.cgi.org.uk
