“As we think about senior housing, that sector in itself is too fragmented and it needs a bit of leadership from someone to kind of disrupt,” Stephen Gaitanos, co-founder, Managing Director and Group CEO of Scape Australia told Mingtiandi’s Singapore Forum.
“There isn’t a customer-centric model that can provide the service that our seniors need. And frankly, we shouldn’t even be calling that because 75-year-olds are much younger, fitter, healthier than they’ve ever been.”
If Scape goes ahead and buys Aveo’s 67 retirement villages prepare to be disrupted.
Scape launched in Australia in 2014 and has since become the biggest purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) owner and operator.
Today, Scape is home to over 18,500 beds in 38 buildings across Australia’s four key educational precincts – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide – as well as 10 buildings in planning and development, which will bring the portfolio to 23,000 beds by 2025.
What it has done to student accommodation in this country should come as a warning. It is not just providing a place to stay, it is creating an environment where students can truly thrive.
How many village operators can say they know their residents truly thrive? How does Scape make it happen?
It hosts over 2,000 events a year to bring students together, foster friendships, and create moments of connection.
It knows loneliness is one of the biggest challenges students face, so everything it designs — from communal spaces to events and support programs — to combat that. Scape’s Wellbeing Index, built with a third-party partner, actually measures the wellbeing of students living with Scape compared to those living outside, so Scape can continuously improve and refine what it does.
Imagine that being applied to seniors. No longer would residents only be left to organise their own events, but Scape would host events.
GemLife Managing Director and CEO Adrian Puljich, who looks set to go public with a $2 billion valuation, is one of the most innovative thinkers in the sector. His Gemlife Games is in its third year and gets all his communities together for fun.
Imagine what Scape will do for 67 Aveo retirement villages. Aveo has executed a $200 million plus renovation program over the past four years and has a leading NPS score of 57 but expect Scape to do more.
They will bring fresh management that works fast and is prepared to innovate.
