Real estate investment firm Fore Partnership and extra care operator Amicala are planning to invest up to £300m (€347m) in UK later living homes.
The pair have formed a partnership to seek opportunities to develop “ultra-sustainable net-zero extra care communities” in regional centres like Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham and Cambridge.
In a statement, the companies said the newly created joint venture has acquired a five-acre site in the Westbury Park area from Aurora for its first extra care scheme in Bristol. The site is on the grounds of the former St Christopher’s School, which closed in 2020, and comprises around 93,000sqft of existing buildings including the Grade-II listed Grace House.
The scheme, which could see an investment of up to £80m, will involve the refurbishment of the existing buildings as well as new development, the companies said. The joint venture has appointed First Base as development manager to deliver the project.
The new partnership marks Fore Partnership’s first foray into extra care after developing a range of commercial and residential assets, including offices and co-living properties.
Basil Demeroutis, Managing Partner, Fore Partnership, said: “It has been made abundantly clear as the UK has lived through the Covid pandemic that the quality of our homes has a huge impact on our health and wellbeing.
”This is true for seniors as much as anyone and we want to bring our experience in developing ultra-sustainable, thoughtfully-designed buildings to bare in creating a new generation of net-zero carbon later living developments around the UK.”
Paul Spence, CEO of Amicala, said: “We are delighted to have formed a joint venture with Fore Partnership and to have completed the acquisition of St Christopher’s. The need for high-quality extra care communities has never been greater. With an ageing population, now is the time to create exciting, attractive and sustainable communities that deliver for seniors that support ageing in place.
”Together with Fore Partnership, we will deliver communities that are designed to meet the expectations of the new generation of retirees, reflecting the values that we share with them.”
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