While the UK village sector is young, it is learning and expanding fast, led by the likes of French insurer Axa and Goldman Sachs.
France is bigger and more corporatised in the retirement village and aged care sectors than most of us are aware. They are seriously big and professional in a big business way.
In the UK, Axa has 16 retirement villages, all located in semi-rural fringes with landscaped gardens etc. Now they have switched to high street locations with public serving retail in the development mix for their next four villages.
Axa’s Retirement Village Group is about to open the five level Botanical Place in West Byfleet, a London commuter town in Surrey. It has 196 apartments and will cost AUD$200 million to build. Local homes sell at around AUD$2 million and a two bed apartment will cost AUD$1.3 million.
The annual fees are around AUD$10,000 per year and the graduated DMF peaks at 24%.
Built into the development is a public town square, public library and adjacent is public medical suites. RVG states it wants to be part of the local community, not segregated from it.
Now insurance group Legal & General is supporting the same inner town model, and Golman Sachs.
