John Laing teams up with Macquarie Capital for retirement venture

John Laing said on Thursday that it is teaming up with Macquarie Capital and retirement homebuilder MCarthy & Stone to create a UK-based platform to invest in retirement accommodation.

As part of the transaction, Brigid Investments Limited - the platform - in which John Laing and Macquarie Capital are each 50% shareholders, will invest in purpose-built, completed and let retirement living units developed in partnership with McCarthy Stone.

John Laing said the platform has selected and secured a "high quality and geographically diverse" pipeline of units, with around 250 completed units to be acquired on financial completion of the deal. In addition, about 400 further completed and let units will be acquired over the next year.

Together, these represent an investment commitment of about £50m for John Laing.

The platform also benefits from an additional agreement with McCarthy Stone which provides an option to buy follow-on investments in a further 500 units within three years following after completion, which is due in the second quarter.

John Laing chief executive Ben Loomes said: "We are delighted to be partnering with McCarthy Stone, the UK's leading developer and manager of retirement communities, and creating a platform for growth with Macquarie Capital's infrastructure investment team.

"Retirement living is a market with high barriers to entry and strong fundamentals, underpinned by an ageing population and constrained supply.

"This investment is in-line with our strategy of investing in platforms which are asset-backed, scalable and offer long-term, resilient cash flows."

Loomes said there is potential for "significant" value creation both through scaling the platform, and as the sector matures and attracts further institutional capital into core infrastructure assets.