Landmark partnership announced with Anchor Hanover

1 October 2020

McCarthy & Stone / Anchor Hanover

Landmark partnership between Anchor Hanover and McCarthy & Stone launched to deliver'affordable for all' retirement solutions

McCarthy & Stone, the UK's leading developer and manager of retirement communities, and Anchor Hanover, England's largest not-for-profit provider of specialist housing and care for people in later life, today announce a development partnership which will see the country's two leading retirement providers deliver a range of 'affordable for all' later living communities across England.

Providing high-quality housing across all tenures, this unique partnership, unmatched in the marketplace, will address the diverse needs of England's growing ageing population at a time when it is most needed. The announcement, which has been welcomed by the Housing Minister, coincides with the United Nations' International Day of Older Persons, which recognises the need to support an ageing population.

The partnership will initially deliver 482 units across five large-scale sites (which are currently owned by McCarthy & Stone and have planning consent) with an indicative gross development value of c.£125m. As part of the agreement, Anchor Hanover will pay a total of £67m for the development of 316 Extra Care apartments, aimed at those in greatest need of supported housing and care. McCarthy & Stone will act as turn-key developer to Anchor Hanover to deliver these apartments - of which 124 will be affordable rent and 192 will be shared ownership.

A further 166 Retirement Living units will be sold and managed by McCarthy & Stone on land adjacent to Anchor Hanover's sites.

The partnership also meets the Government's objectives of increasing housing supply and improving access to care and support for older people, and both companies will in future seek to expand upon the initial partnership through the identification of new opportunities to co-locate their respective products.

The first two of these developments are set to get underway in Hook, Hampshire and Hinckley, Leicestershire later this year with the next two developments located in Bingley, West Yorkshire, and Standish, Greater Manchester due to commence in early 2021. The final development will follow in Macclesfield, Cheshire later in 2021.

Housing Minister Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP said:

"Around one-third of children born in the United Kingdom today can expect to celebrate their hundredth birthday and housing will have an important role to play in ensuring healthy and independent living as our society ages.

"I look forward to seeing this partnership result in more high-quality, affordable retirement properties that are not just homes, but strong communities too."

John Tonkiss, Chief Executive of McCarthy & Stone said:

"Now more than ever we need to better align adult social care policy with high-quality and 'affordable for all' retirement community solutions. This partnership is in addition to our current construction plans and forms part of our strategy to provide greater choice for customers, with different tenure options across the affordability spectrum. It marks an important step in our commitment to address this challenge while providing customers with greater choice and a more affordable product."

Jane Ashcroft CBE, Chief Executive of Anchor Hanover said:

"The changing needs of our ageing society mean demand for specialist housing and care is strong and growing across all price points.

"We have ambitious plans to provide more homes where people love living in later life and to do so more quickly. We're keen to work with a range of partners to meet that demand and support the government's objective of more accessible housing for older people."

There is growing demand for retirement communities. There are currently 12.2 million people aged 65 or over, rising to 17.4m by 2043, representing a 43% increase[1]. For those aged 85 or over, the increase will be larger, from 1.6m to 3.0m, representing an 87% increase. Research shows that 33% of those aged 65 or over are interested in moving, equating to c.4 million people[2].

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

McCarthy & Stone:

Investor Relations - Marina Calero, IR Director - [email protected] / 07770 956 122

PR - Powerscourt, [email protected] / 020 7250 1446 

Justin Griffiths

Nick Dibden

Victoria Heslop

Anchor Hanover:

Derya Filiz, Head of External Communications, [email protected], 07827 993 561

Notes to Editors - McCarthy & Stone

McCarthy & Stone is the UK's leading developer and manager of retirement communities, with a significant market share. The Group buys land and then builds, sells and manages high-quality retirement developments. It has built and sold more than 58,000 properties across more than 1,300 retirement developments since 1977 and is renowned for its focus on the needs of those in later life.

McCarthy & Stone has two main product ranges - Retirement Living and Retirement Living PLUS - which provide mainly one and two-bedroom apartments across the country with varying levels of support and care for older people. Retirement Living developments provide independence in private apartments designed specifically for the over-60s, as well as facilities such as communal lounges and guest suites that support companionship. Retirement Living PLUS developments, which are designed specifically for the over-70s, offer all of this plus more on-site facilities such as restaurants, well-being suites and function rooms. Importantly, they also provide on-site flexible care and support packages to assist those needing additional help.

All developments built since 2010 are managed by the company's in-house management services team, providing peace of mind that it will look after customers and their properties over the long term. This is a key part of how McCarthy & Stone seeks to enrich its customers' lives. This commitment to quality and customer service continues to be recognised by residents. In March 2020, the Group received the full five star rating for customer satisfaction from the Home Builders Federation for the fifteenth consecutive year - making it the only UK developer, of any size or type, to achieve this accolade.

For further information, please visit www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk

Notes to Editors - Anchor Hanover

Anchor Hanover is England's largest not-for-profit provider of care and housing for people in later life.

It provides services to more than 60,000 residents in 54,000 homes across almost 1,700 locations, supported by more than 10,000 colleagues. The organisation was formed in 2018 from the merger of Anchor Trust and Hanover Housing Association, two organisations each with more than 50 years of history.

Today, Anchor Hanover provides retirement housing to rent and to buy, retirement villages and residential care homes, including specialist dementia care. It operates in more than 85% of local councils in England. 

The Regulator of Social Housing confirmed in April 2020 the highest possible rating for Anchor Hanover's viability and governance. Of all large providers of residential care, it is the most compliant with the Care Quality Commission's regulatory system. In 2019, Anchor Hanover won the LaingBuisson Awards Residential Care (Larger Organisation) Award for excellence in residential care for older people.

For further information, please visit www.anchorhanover.org.uk