Audley Group and Apache Capital complete luxury retirement village

By Bridging Loan Directory 7th April 2020

One of London’s first luxury retirement villages has just completed and is promising to offer an unprecedented level of high-end living to a new generation of older people wanting to live centrally in the city.

Developed by Audley Group in partnership with Apache Capital Partners, Nightingale Place offers 94 luxury apartments and will be home to a whole suite of on-site facilities focused on physical and mental wellbeing.

Properties will range from one to three-bedroom apartments, as well as a number of penthouses, which overlook Clapham Common and sit right next to Clapham South tube station.

Homes are still available at Audley Nightingale Place and prospective owners can be given virtual tours and conduct video calls with the sales team to talk through their options in more detail until it is appropriate to offer tours of the village itself.

The first owners, who move in May, will have access not only to round-the-clock care and wellbeing services as and when they need but also, once social distancing measures allow, the 17,000 sq. ft. Audley Club, which is open to the wider community as well as Audley owners. Facilities at the Audley Club include a library, restaurant and bar, cinema, swimming pool and luxury health club. Until that point, as in all other Audley villages, owners will be supported in their social distancing, with Audley providing shopping support, meal options, online wellbeing support including nutrition and exercise plans and numerous virtual initiatives to ensure people feel connected.

Having previously acquired the site, Apache Capital brought on Audley Group to deliver the homes in 2017. Apache Capital and Audley Group appointed McLaren Construction in 2018 in a £51 million build contract to manage construction on the project and ensure that the build completed on time and met both companies’ exceptional standards.

The £125m GDV joint venture is the first project Apache Capital and Audley Group have completed together, and marks Audley’s first London retirement village.

The project builds on Apache Capital’s 12-year track record focusing on structurally supported sectors within living real estate, such as purpose-built student accommodation, build-to-rent and senior living. The firm, which has delivered or is in the process of delivering £3bn of living assets, previously funded the development of three high quality care homes alongside Maria Mallaband that were later sold to a specialist healthcare fund.

The growing demand for senior living options in the UK is driven by an ageing population, with one in four Britons predicted to be 65 or over by 2037. Less than one per cent of over-65s in Britain currently live in retirement communities, compared to approximately six per cent in Australia, New Zealand and the US, underlining the huge potential for growth in the UK. Savills predicts the UK retirement housing market could eventually be worth close to £250bn, compared to under £100bn today.

Kevin Shaw, Managing Director Development, Audley Group, said:

“We are really proud to be able to open the doors to our first London village in May and bring luxury retirement living to the capital. It is important at all times, but especially in exceptional circumstances, that older people have the support they need, including access to care and facilities close by. In the current climate, the support we can provide has been invaluable to our owners, from shopping for them and visits from our wonderful carers if needed, to a strong programme of virtual activities and entertainment.

We are delighted to have completed the build on a much sought-after London retirement village. These are testing times, but the demand for villages like ours remains extremely high, and fulfilling those needs is vital for us. Audley Nightingale Place will allow owners to downsize into a home where they can still retain their independence with the knowledge and comfort that care and wellbeing services are there for them whatever their current and future needs.”

Ben Pile, investment director and head of senior living at Apache Capital Partners, said:

“Senior living is one of the most promising sectors in the UK housing market, being a demographically and structurally supported asset class with huge scope for growth thanks to the UK’s ageing population and lack of high quality product.

As with the other sectors we are active or have been active in, such as build-to-rent and purpose-built student accommodation, the UK senior living market remains relatively immature, underlining the massive opportunity for investors to create value and achieve scale.

What we have delivered with Audley will raise the bar for retirement villages in London and we will continue to expand our presence in senior living and deliver further high quality schemes.”