UK private equity real estate fund manager Moorfield Group has raised an additional €85 mln ( €96 mln) via its specialist UK retirement village fund, the Moorfield Audley Real Estate Fund (MAREF), bringing its total commitments so far to £285 mln (€323 mln).
Moorfield Group created MAREF to acquire Audley, a leading UK retirement village developer and operator, in December 2015.
According to Moorfield, this latest fund raising round creates a total war chest of over £700 mln (€793 mln) to be invested over the next five years, drawn from a combination of equity, development income and investment debt.
'The new capital will give Audley the opportunity to acquire new sites, develop existing sites and allow the expansion of the business,' commented Marc Gilbard, Moorfield Group CEO. 'We continue to expect to see a strong return for our investors as Audley capitalises on the clear demand for quality living options for the older generation in the UK.'
As well as acquiring and developing at least 2,000 units in new Audley Villages, Moorfield said it would purchase sites to add around 500 keys to its new mid-market proposition, Mayfield Villages.
'This latest round of fundraising further underlines what we at Audley and Moorfield have known for some time; retirement living in the UK is a growth market, principally as a result of the significant shortage of retirement housing and growing demand is now vastly outstripping supply,' said Nick Sanderson, Audley CEO.
'Market penetration is less than 1% in the UK, compared with 17% in the USA, and 13% in Australia and New Zealand,' Sanderson concluded.
