Retirement and Community Living

Only in SATURDAY: why future proofing villages building to 9C pays

Building retirement villages to Class 9C standards can add up to 10% to the total cost of construction. But for a growing number of operators, the upgrade is no longer optional.

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Caroline Egan

17 hours ago

Community Living

Thakral CEO: land lease giant GemLife now in “game on” mode

GemLife, the Gold Coast-based land lease community operator that staged Australia’s largest IPO of 2025, is “just at the beginning of a new journey,” according to one of its biggest shareholders.

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Ian Horswill

15 Sep 2025

In the Headlines

Lifestyle Communities sells Ocean Grove land to pay down debt

ASX-listed land lease operator Lifestyle Communities has finalised the first of four land sales as part of a $114 million divestment program to cut debt.

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Ian Horswill

15 Sep 2025

Mergers & Acquisitions

LDK Seniors’ Living enters QLD with Brisbane bayside acquisition

LDK Seniors’ Living has secured its first Queensland site, purchasing a 2.1ha landholding in the bayside suburb of Brighton, 27.9km north of Brisbane’s CBD, from the Uniting Church.

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The real bottleneck: Private aged care will rise or fall on its super-sized workforce

Villages can raise capital and build suites, but without culture, career paths and tech, care delivery will fail. The future will be won – or lost – on people. The next great challenge for Australia’s retirement village sector isn’t bricks...

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Lauren Broomham

12 Sep 2025

Opinion

Is the DMF model dead? Anglicare CEO Simon Miller says yes

After buying 50% of LDK Senior’s Living from Cromwell Property Group in November 2022, Anglicare CEO Simon Miller is going all in on private aged care. Speaking at the DCM Group’s Ask the Visionaries’ Anything breakfast forum at...

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Ian Horswill

16 Sep 2025

Mergers & Acquisitions

Brookfield offloads Aveo, targets US$10B American seniors housing giant

Fresh from selling Aveo for $3.85 billion, Brookfield Asset Management is looking to spend more than US$10 billion (A$15 billion) acquiring Yes! Communities, a major US manufactured home operator owned by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.

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Ian Horswill

15 Sep 2025

News & Headlines

SATURDAY is your water cooler talking point: Odyssey’s new direction

When Odyssey Lifestyle Care Communities began planning its $150 million Chevron Island project, it leaned on trusted tier-one contractors. For its future pipeline, the operator is taking a new path. CEO Aaron Lavell talks exclusively to SATURDAY...

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Ian Horswill

15 Sep 2025

Community Living

Stockland’s Halcyon brand emerges as runaway land lease leader

When Tarun Gupta took over as Stockland CEO in July 2021, he staked his name on land lease communities with a bold $620 million acquisition of Queensland’s Halcyon Group. The move trumped rival offers from Ingenia Communities and Serenitas – and cemented Stockland’s ambition to dominate “the fastest growing lifestyle segment – the Over 50s market.”

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Ian Horswill

15 Sep 2025

Development

Bocina Group unveils first land lease community in QLD’s Lockyer Valley

Gold Coast-based Bocina Group has lodged plans for its first land lease community, a 267-home project in Gatton in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley.

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Ian Horswill

15 Sep 2025

Sector Moves & People

Manuel Lang joins GemLife as Chief Corporate Officer

The ASX-listed land lease community operator GemLife has appointed Manuel Lang as its Chief Corporate Officer, effective 1 October 2025. Manuel brings more than 20 years’ experience in the land lease and property sectors. He was General Manager Land Lease Communities at AVID Property Group.

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Ian Horswill

10 Sep 2025

In the Headlines

Macquarie-backed Millbray enters land lease market with $2.9B fund and 5,000-home target

Macquarie Asset Management has officially unveiled Millbray, a new vertically integrated land lease communities group, with plans to deliver at least 5,000 homes along Australia’s eastern seaboard.

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Ian Horswill

09 Sep 2025

Development

Uniting gets go-ahead for 152-unit Shellharbour development

Uniting NSW.ACT has secured approval for the first stage of its new Shellharbour development, which will deliver 152 independent living apartments and assisted living services in the Illawarra, about 100km south of Sydney’s CBD.

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Ian Horswill

15 Sep 2025