Royal London teams up with Audley for retirement housing debut

Royal London Pension Property Fund has agreed its first investment in retirement housing, with an £80m joint venture with luxury developer Audley. The joint venture will deliver 156 retirement homes at Audley Wycliffe Park in Buckinghamshire. Royal London will provide the capital for the development of the 25-acre site and retain the freehold after selling the homes. Audley will take on the operational management of the village and will enter a 250-year lease providing inflation-linked income to the fund. Construction at Audley Wycliffe Park is expected to begin this quarter. Nick Sanderson, founder and chief executive at Audley Group, said: “Working with Royal London allows us to deliver our first-class offering in a way which is less capital intensive and provides Royal London with a secure, inflationary linked, long-term income stream.” Andrew Johnston, head of alternative property investment, Royal London Asset Management, said: “The retirement living sector in the UK presents significant investment opportunities. Changing demographics with an ageing society and a significant under supply of modern, purpose-built age appropriate housing points to strong sector growth in the years ahead.” The investor has ramped up development in the past year, advancing a number of projects on former industrial and retail parks in outer London boroughs. This summer, it received consent for a 500-home development at Capitol Industrial Park in Colindale, NW9, and boosted the numbers at its Hurlingham Retail Park in Fulham. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette Image © Audley Group