McCarthy Stone’s UK retirement living rental portfolio secures finance from John Laing and Macquarie Capital

McCarthy Stone, the UK's leading developer and manager of retirement communities, has today announced that it has entered into an agreement which will secure approximately £200m of total financing for the development of its retirement living rental portfolio. The finance will be provided jointly by John Laing and Macquarie Capital, both of whom are well-known infrastructure investors with a focus on development projects and platforms, including in accommodation and broader social infrastructure.  Financial completion of the transaction is expected to take place in the second quarter subject to customary consents.

This investment will enable McCarthy Stone to expand its rental service to a growing ageing population, help meet the under-supply of this important form of housing and provide consumers with another way to access the benefits of retirement living. McCarthy Stone will continue to provide property and estate management and their award-winning care and services provision.

Brigid Investments Limited, a special purpose vehicle formed by John Laing and Macquarie Capital who are both 50 per cent shareholders, will finance approximately 250 purpose-built, completed and let retirement units in the UK, worth approximately £80 million with a commitment to finance around a further 400 units in the UK worth approximately £120 million over the next 12 months.

This investment provides John Laing and Macquarie Capital with the opportunity to develop a scalable platform, working in partnership with the UK’s leading developer of retirement accommodation. In particular, this investment brings strong and long-term, inflation-linked revenue - backed with real assets. The units have been responsibly delivered bringing positive impact to local towns and communities.

Richard Williams has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Brigid Investments Limited. Richard brings over 20 years of real estate and property experience at Aldi, as Regional Managing Director with McCarthy Stone, and as Chief Executive of Rangeford Retirement Living & Care.

Demand for rental properties in the UK’s retirement living sector continues to materially outpace supply, with the market historically focusing on the for-sale model. In 2019, McCarthy Stone launched a new rental offering for retired tenants with increased flexibility – the first retirement operator to do so nationally – removing the burden of having to sell the family home and providing an affordable alternative to outright purchase. The new offering has also been welcomed by McCarthy Stone’s customers.

Currently, around 8,000 new retirement units are delivered in the UK each year, and there is potential to grow this to around 30,000 new units per year¹.  In financial year 2020, McCarthy Stone completed 265 multi-tenure transactions, and so far in financial year 2021 around a third of its transactions have been for rental properties - further illustrating the strong demand and the potential for rental to become a greater share of McCarthy Stone’s business in the future.

John Tonkiss, Chief Executive of McCarthy Stone said: “Partnering with experienced and dependable infrastructure investors such as John Laing and Macquarie creates the platform to fund greater expansion of our rental offering and provides the business with a highly sustainable platform for growth. It also proves for the first time the retirement living rental proposition in the UK market.

“Similar investment vehicles were launched by the student housing market, led by Unite, the UK’s leading student housing provider, which led to a similar increase in delivery. Our customers have jumped at the opportunity to rent. It provides greater choice and more flexibility and allows more people to access the benefits of retirement living, which include increased companionship, peace of mind and independence in their later years.”

Richard Williams, CEO of Brigid Investments Limited commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, and creating a platform for growth.  Retirement living is a market with high barriers to entry and strong fundamentals, underpinned by an ageing population and constrained supply.” 

“John Laing and Macquarie Capital are both leading investors in developing infrastructure, with significant prior experience of investing in specialised accommodation and broader social infrastructure. We are looking forward to working with McCarthy Stone to grow our partnership in order to meet the growing needs of an ageing population looking for a sense of community and independence.”

Media contacts

McCarthy Stone

Kirsty Mair         
Kirsty.mair@fleishman.com       
+44 (0)7711 462 880

Kate Durrans     
Kate.Durrans@fleishman.com    
+44 (0)7860 607 730   

Will King             
will.king@fleishmaneurope.com

John Laing Group

Kellie McAvoy
Head of Investor Relations
+44 (0) 7923 249298

Tashi Lassalle
Director of Communications
+44 (0)7923 249384

About McCarthy Stone

McCarthy Stone is the UK's leading developer and manager of retirement communities, with a significant market share. The Group buys land and then builds, sells and manages high-quality retirement developments.  It has built and sold more than 58,000 properties across more than 1,300 retirement developments since 1977 and is renowned for its focus on the needs of those in later life.

There is growing demand for retirement communities.  There are currently 12.2 million people aged 65 or over, rising to 17.4m by 2043, representing a 43% increase.  For those aged 85 or over, the increase will be larger, from 1.6m to 3.0m, representing an 87% increase.   Research shows that 33% of those aged 65 or over are interested in moving, equating to c.4 million people.

McCarthy Stone has two main product ranges - Retirement Living and Retirement Living PLUS - which provide mainly one and two-bedroom apartments across the country with varying levels of support and care for older people.  Retirement Living developments provide independence in private apartments designed specifically for the over-60s, as well as facilities such as communal lounges and guest suites that support companionship.

Retirement Living PLUS developments, which are designed specifically for the over-70s, offer all of this plus more on-site facility such as restaurants, well-being suites and function rooms.  Importantly, they also provide on-site flexible care and support packages to assist those needing additional help.

All developments built since 2010 are managed by the company's in-house management services team, providing peace of mind that it will look after customers and their properties over the long term.  This is a key part of how McCarthy Stone seeks to enrich its customers' lives.  This commitment to quality and customer service continues to be recognised by residents.  In March 2021, the Group received the full five-star rating for customer satisfaction from the Home Builders Federation for the fifteenth consecutive year - making it the only UK developer, of any size or type, to achieve this accolade. 

For further information, please visit www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk.

About John Laing

John Laing Group plc is a leading international investor across a range of infrastructure sectors.  We seek to deliver attractive and sustainable returns over the medium-term.  We are a responsible investor, committed to delivering critical and enduring infrastructure which responds to public needs and improves the lives of the communities we serve. 

John Laing has a proven long-term track record of investing in social infrastructure and specialised accommodation in the UK and internationally, having successful invested in and delivered projects including hospitals and wider healthcare facilities, housing, and military and student accommodation.  

1. Retirement Housing Report, Knight Frank, 2016