Retirement home developer and builder McCarthy & Stone has talked of ambitious plans for growth in the recovering housing market.
Announcing its annual results, the company said it planned to invest £1.5bn in over 250 sites over the next four years.
In the year to 31 August 2013, McCarthy & Stone sold 1,527 apartments, an 11% uplift compared to 1,370 in 2012. That resulted in revenue of £310.8m, 21% higher than sales of £257.7m in 2012.
Commenting on the results, group chairman John White said: “The performance delivered in the last financial year, and our healthy pipeline of quality sites for development, provides a strong platform for further robust growth. At 31 August 2013, we owned or controlled circa 8,300 plots on 263 sites in good locations across the UK. This provides the company with an excellent opportunity to increase sales volumes over the next few years.
“In addition, recent research points to very significant demand in the retirement sector. I am therefore confident that McCarthy & Stone will continue to capitalise on the increasing opportunities emerging in the housing market.”
White was referring to a study published in September by the Demos think-tank, commissioned by the Home Builders Federation, which suggested that 58% of over-60s were interested in downsizing their property, but many were restricted by a lack of suitable alternative housing.
A quarter (25%) expressed particular interest in buying a retirement property – indicating a total of 3.5 million people – which dwarfs the 100,000 stock of private sector retirement properties available for sale in the UK. Such homes currently only make up 2% of Britain’s housing stock.
The report urges the government and housebuilders to work together to deliver more retirement housing, as helping the over-60s to downsize would free up 3.29 million properties, including 2 million three-bedroom homes.
The Demos report defines retirement properties as “accommodation where older people have their own dwellings and front door, but share communal areas such as lounges and restaurants, with facilities and staff on hand to provide round-the-clock support.”
The Homebuilders Federation has now launched the Housing in Later Life campaign, in partnership with McCarthy & Stone, Shelter, Churchill Retirement Living, the International Longevity Association, Urban Renaissance Villages and others.
