Legal & General’s urban retirement business Guild Living has announced its fourth retirement village in less than a year and its first in the UK capital.
Legal & General said that it has acquired a site to develop £130 mln of retirement homes in Uxbridge, within the borough of Hillingdon, London. The site will be developed and operated by Guild Living, Legal & General’s specialist urban later living business.
Guild Living will develop the Uxbridge town centre site, currently a retail warehouse occupied by Halfords and Wikes, to create new retirement apartments alongside intergenerational facilities that will be open to the whole community. The development will also offer additional tailored care suites that aim to support local NHS services by helping people who leave hospital to staircase back to independent living.
In order to address the UK's chronic undersupply of age-specific accommodation, Legal & General has established two specialist businesses, Inspired Villages and Guild Living, to meet the changing needs of older generations. The combined gross development value of these businesses is over £2.8 bn.
Eugene Marchese, co-founder and director at Guild Living, said: ‘There is a clear and growing need for age-appropriate housing both in London and across the UK. Our ambition is to create communities that are safe and secure so local people can live and maintain their local links while protecting their independence.’
Phil Bayliss, CEO of Later Living at Legal & General, added: ‘Legal & General’s long-term investment is supporting Guild Living in revolutionising later living in an urban setting. It has never been more important to tackle social isolation and deliver housing where people really want to live, while also finding new ways to revitalise our high streets.’
