Senior Living Investment Partners (SLIP) has entered into a multi-site joint venture with Audley Group to develop up to four new integrated retirement communities offering 600 units.
In total, SLIP – a £200m partnership between Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) and Octopus Real Estate – aims to house up to 2,000 people in the coming years across 10 integrated retirement communities, with a gross development value of circa £1bn.
The first community delivered via the JV with Audley Group is Headley Court in Surrey (pictured). The development will offer 112 apartments and safeguard the future of the Grade II listed historic mansion house.
Max Cawthorn, head of PIC capital strategy, said: “Our joint venture with Octopus Real Estate continues to make excellent progress in helping to meet the twin challenge of an ageing population and an undersupply of appropriate housing.
“The calibre of Audley Group and its long experience in the UK retirement market make it a perfect partner for Senior Living Investment Partners. Through our relationship we will help address these societal issues while also providing long-term, secure investments which underpin the pensions we pay to our policyholders.”
Nick Sanderson, founder and chief executive of Audley Group, added: “The demand for retirement villages is only growing. Octopus Real Estate and PIC have recognised the opportunity in the retirement space and it’s wonderful to see a new JV with dedicated capital to grow the sector.
“We have been working with JV partners for some time; it allows us to execute the model in a less capital-intensive manner, which in turn means we can accelerate the delivery of these much-needed villages. Headley Court is a truly unique site, rich in both history and beauty. We look forward to working with Senior Living Investment Partners to deliver another first-class retirement village.”
Kevin Beirne, head of retirement at Octopus Real Estate, said: “We are delighted to build on our relationship with Audley Group in creating this new JV vehicle to develop a very exciting pipeline of IRCs. This JV will deliver 600 new retirement units across four sites, delivering a mixture of Audley and Mayfield village offerings to provide much-needed growth of the UK retirement living market for older people, as well as facilitating the increased availability of family homes.
“The IRC proposition goes far beyond just high-quality real estate. IRCs provide an investment opportunity to deliver strong and sustainable returns while delivering unique impact though improved lifestyle and well-being for our ageing population.”
