Audley Group and Elysian Residences have announced their merger, creating the largest retirement village provider in the UK and a group with a combined sales value of over £3 billion.
The new Group company, created with external investment from institutional funds, has over 30 villages both in operation and in the pipeline that represent around 3,000 individual properties.
The merger brings together three retirement village brands, Elysian, Audley Villages and Mayfield Villages, which will all be retained. The three village brands will sit under a new corporate group, which will be led by Gavin Stein as CEO and Nick Sanderson as chair, with Stein remaining CEO of Elysian Residences and Sanderson CEO of Audley and Mayfield.
“Investors have recognised the benefits of the long-term secure income stream that retirement villages offer”, said Nick Sanderson, CEO & Founder, Audley Group. “Now is the right time to capitalise on that interest and bring together aligned brands to create more operating villages This sector needs scale – it is still very small given the size of the opportunity and the growing older population, and this is a first step to expediting the additional retirement housing units the country so desperately needs.”
Elysian and Audley are complementary models which have already reached significant scale and will continue their growth trajectories to bring new units to market across the country. Mayfield, in the mid-market, is a relatively new brand in an underserved sector, providing the same full-service model but at a more affordable price point.
“With our new investors, we will provide a best-in-market retirement living business of real scale and expertise”, said Gavin Stein, CEO & Founder, Elysian Residences. !This is further proof of the great potential in the rapidly growing residential sector, where we will be at the forefront of driving change, embracing new ideas and identifying innovative solutions for our customers and investors.”
The Group says that the timing of the merger provides extensive opportunities, with a recent report from Savills finding that owner occupiers aged 65 plus hold a record £2.6trillion of net housing wealth.
In 2024, the pipeline of retirement housing in the UK reached just 30,000 homes, falling short of the 50,000 per year needed to meet the demand in the sector. £1.25billion was invested and committed to the retirement housing market in 2024, with investment expected to increase in 2025, according to the latest Knight Frank UK Senior Housing Market Update.
Author: Nicol Dynes,
Source: Real Asset Insight