Retirement Villages Ltd increases portfolio in £13m deal

Nov. 22, 2010 - PRLog -- RETIREMENT Villages Ltd, the UK market leader, has increased its portfolio of operating Villages to 12, with the addition of Avonpark near Bath in a deal worth £13 million.

Avonpark, bought from Care Estates Ltd, includes a broad range of retirement accommodation of one, two and three bedroom apartments and houses, extensive social and leisure facilities with related support and care services for residents.

Set in 15 acres, the 10-year-old village is a continuing care retirement community providing a range of options from supported independent living through to full
24-hour nursing and dementia care.  The business employs around 110 staff and has annual revenues of approximately £6 million.

Communal and leisure facilities include an on-site restaurant, bar and lounge; hairdressing salon; bridge room and library; conservatory, small shop; two guest suites; doctors’ surgery and therapy room; mini gym; meeting room; allotments; and landscaped gardens.

“This is a great addition to our portfolio and strengthens our position in a growing market,” said Retirement Villages Ltd chief executive Jon Gooding. “We have a new development programme worth more than £140 million, but, because there are less than 50 private sector retirement villages operating in the UK, opportunities to acquire high quality existing villages are rare and this fits very well with our existing operations in the South West of England.“

Retirement Villages Ltd now has 12 operational developments in Warwickshire, Lincolnshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Essex, Hertfordshire, Devon and Cornwall – with others in planning or development.

For more information about Retirement Villages, please visit www.retirementvillages.co.uk.



Note to editors

Retirement Villages Limited, founded in 1981, is the longest established operator of retirement villages in the UK and is the market leader. Its model of offering active, elderly people a supported lifestyle in villages with extensive facilities differentiates the company from other retirement operators who offer either sheltered accommodation with no facilities or support, or are nursing based offering services only to the frail and elderly.

Since a change of ownership in 2005, the business has expanded rapidly through joint ventures, acquisition of existing villages, development of new sites and expansion into new service areas. The company has grown from three completed villages with one under construction in February 2005 to 12 operating villages with a further four under development today. The new villages include care facilities, which are more labour intensive, and there has been a significant increase in staff numbers: from 120 in February 2005 to around 550 by March 09. In the 12 month period to March 2010 the company made profits of £3m (EBITDA) on turnover of £23m.

For more  press information, please call Dawn Strange at Media Matters on 01733 371363 or dawn@mediamatters-pr.co.uk.



Company background/information

Retirement Villages has been developing and managing purpose-built age-exclusive communities throughout the United Kingdom since 1981.

Inspired originally from American lifestyle developments often built around golf courses and extensive leisure facilities, the idea was adapted to meet the very different needs of the UK market.

In 2005, new owners set out an ambitious plan to grow the portfolio of villages and extend and enhance the range of services and facilities to residents. This expansion is now underway.  The emphasis is now very much on continuing care.

The company employs around 600 staff across its active locations. Its head office is in Epsom, Surrey,

Retirement Villages Ltd is a founding member of the Association of Retirement Village Operators UK (ARVOUK).

In 2007, the company received national accolades at all the major property award events.  As well as recognising our built environments, we have also won top accolades for our landscaping and grounds including the Green Leaf Standard. Our expertise in care continues to be acknowledged with a number of staff nominated for national awards.

In 2008, we received five stars in the Daily Mail’s best retirement development for our Roseland Parc project in Cornwall. The same village was selected as one of the top three projects of its kind in the Pinders’ Healthcare Design Awards.

In 2009, four of our retirement villages were awarded a Quality of Information Mark by the Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC). Blagdon Village, Elmbridge Village, Roseland Parc and Thamesfield received national recognition for their commitment to transparency and honesty with potential buyers.

In 2010, we were selected as a finalist for the Health Investor Awards 2010 in the Residential Care Provider category.