The Retirement Villages Group (RVG), the UK’s leading provider of luxury retirement communities, has announced ambitious plans to significantly expand its portfolio of high end villages.
RVG operates 14 high-end retirement villages - and is the market leader in the UK - focused in the South of England. The company has its largest development programme in its 35-year history with a pipeline of seven new locations that will be delivered over the next five years.
The development pipeline is made up of 500 new residential units and 160 care beds across seven prime locations in the South East. The sites are located at Gradwell, East Sussex; Merstham, Surrey; Saffron Walden, Essex; West Malling, Kent; and Shiplake in Oxfordshire. Planning consent has already been secured on two of the sites, while the others are being advanced through the planning process.
The GDV (gross development value) of the new pipeline is in excess of €221.8m (£200m).
RVG is also embarking on a programme of expansion across its existing village portfolio with opportunities at eight of the fourteen sites. The existing operational portfolio comprises 1,274 units and over 400 care beds. A further 228 units will be developed through the expansion programme over the next five years. RVG is already currently investing around €22m (£20m) into the expansion programme and improvement of existing villages.
Funding for the overall expansion programme will be provided by a combination of bank finance, group equity and alternative sources.
William Crawford, Group Development Director, Retirement Villages Group, said: “Senior living in the UK is a nascent sector and, in our view, offers the greatest growth potential in UK real estate. We believe the UK is set to follow the US experience and become a major market; we’re tremendously excited to be at the forefront of its evolution.”
RVG has grown steadily in recent years through organic portfolio growth. However, with changing market dynamics and the increasing phenomenon of demographic and social change, a surge in demand presents a major opportunity to expand the business.
RVG has an unparalleled track record of developing and operating luxury senior living schemes, and is in a unique position to capitalise on this emerging sector.
