Jim Hazel and Robert de Crespigny are back with a new village operator business – so it is official: now is the time to invest in the retirement village sector

Announced today, the sector’s most experienced and astute village financier and operator, Jim Hazel, has created a new vehicle to invest in and operate villages – with an emphasis on extended in home care.

He brings with him Robert de Crespigny plus four other private investors to create a fund to acquire villages. They will finalise this week the acquisition of Bill McClurg and John McMahon’s OmegaCare Communities – two Adelaide villages that offer extended home care – what McClurg calls Family Care. (See his video HERE).

de Crespigny, one of Australia’s most distinguished businesspeople, has history with Hazel. He made his fortune creating Normandy Mining, one of Australia’s largest gold miners. De Crespigny and Melbourne’s Ron Walker bought the majority of Prime Life in 2001/2 (then Australia’s largest village operator). He asked Jim Hazel to be a non executive director. After a fall out with Prime Life founder Ted Sent, Hazel had to jump in as CEO to rescue the company. (Today it is the base for the Lend Lease village business).

McClurg has elected to join Hazel’s investor group. He is one of the most experienced operators in the sector, having started in 1985 and personally built seven villages.

Hazel is the innovator of the sector. He was Chief General Manager of Adelaide Bank and took it into retirement 20 years ago; it is now Adelaide and Bendigo Bank where Hazel is a Board Director. He mentored Loretta Byers and the creation of Village Care, the sector’s first village management company. He rescued Prime Life. He predicted the GFC. And he is now the Chairman of Ingenia, with its move into manufactured home parks.

Hazel says once they have bedded down OmegaCare they will look to acquire nationally – they have plenty of ‘fire power’.

Explaining his timing, Hazel says now is the right time to re-enter the market. “The asset class hasn’t repriced since the GFC while all others have. Villages are cheap. It is such a god opportunity (now) I couldn’t refuse”.

You can have confidence when the wise, experienced heads are investing with their own money, especially when they are aged in their early 60’s.

(We will do a more in depth review of their business and model next week).