We were approached this week by an industry leader to develop a list of the major Not For Profit (NFP) village operators, ranked by number of village locations. The list may come as a surprise to some, so we have reproduced it here for our newsletter readers, along with a list of the Top 10 private operators.
We list the approximate numbers of locations operated, as distinct from owned. We do not cover the number of ILUs in each village. Some NFP operators that have separate state administrations have been combined.
The Top 10 NFP village operators are:
1. UnitingCare, including BlueCare in Qld (28) and Amana Living in WA (18) 121 villages
2. ECH (SA) 97 villages
3. Southern Cross 52 villages
4. Churches of Christ 42 villages
5. Anglicans 36 villages
6. Illawarra Retirement Trust 30 villages
7. RSL 28 villages
8. Baptists 24 villages
9. Catholic Care 12 villages
10. Wesley 12 villages
454 villages
The Top 10 Private Operators are:
1. SCV (SunnyCove Villages)/Village Life 94 villages
2. Aveo 62 villages
3. Primelife 48 villages
4. Prime Trust 35 villages
5. Aevum 20 villages
6. Zig Inge 18 villages
7. ARC/Stocklands 15 villages
8. Retirement By Design/Lend Lease 12 villages
9. Tri-Care 9 villages
10. Living Choice 7 villages
226 villages
It must be noted that this comparison can be challenged as an NFP village may consist of 5 affordable homes clustered together with few if any community facilities. This is a model that ECH includes in its business model.
At the other extreme however is NFPs that offer superior housing at top prices. Illawarra Retirement Trusts Woolwich village in Sydney is priced from $950,000 to $1.1 million. Increasingly NFPs are seeking to make a surplus form their village developments to subsidise their missions of care.