Our strategy as retirement developers

Our retirement developer strategy

McCarthy Stone is the UK's leading developer and manager of retirement communities. As award-winning pioneers in retirement properties, our long history and depth of experience means our name is synonymous with retirement living at its best.

Today much of our success is underpinned by a single strategy, ensuring we continue to build retirement homes that give people the lifestyle and support they need, want and deserve.

Our strategy: to become the UK’s leading developer, manager and owner of retirement developments

Our purpose: to champion the role, wellbeing and happiness of older people in society

Our vision: to create communities for our customers that nurture a sense of belonging, independence and peace of mind

Our mission: to be the natural choice for later living - by developing beautiful, sustainable and more affordable places to live, with flexible services and a choice of ownership options, designed around our customers and their families.

Three key principles support our strategy

Our strategy as a retirement community developer is upheld by three key principles:

McCarthy Stone offers flexibility of care and support services to respond to evolving customer needs.

1. Flexibility

We aim to increase the flexibility of our care and support services to respond to evolving customer needs.

This will include:

A new tiered service for new and existing customers
Expanding our care offering
Opening new developments for wider community use
Integrating technology-enabled services, like medication control sensors and home automation

A stylish living room of a McCarthy Stone retirement property, complete with modern fittings and a contemporary colour scheme.

2. Ownership choice

Multi-tenure is a big opportunity to introduce more rental and shared ownership retirement properties, offering our homeowners more financial flexibility.

According to our research, 50% of customers are interested in a retirement rental proposition. As of April 2021, we secured our rental investment fund to retain a part share in this market. We will also explore opportunities to bring institutional investment, Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and various other vehicles into the industry.

The exterior of a new retirement living development.

3. Affordability

We want to ensure our retirement properties remain affordable and maintain mass-market appeal.

Our business seeks to do this by:

Reducing build costs
Increasing efficiencies
Introducing new, contemporary and optimised apartment designs

Ultimately, standardised designs that we’ll fabricate differently will reduce the average selling price, increasing the size of our addressable market.

Understanding the market for retirement housing

We have unparalleled knowledge of our market and customer base, a highly skilled and experienced workforce and a national presence. And we’re leading a sector with huge potential.

A rapidly increasing aging population and an undersupply of high-quality, age-appropriate housing for older people highlight a market need for retirement developers like us.

An aging population

The last UK Census (Census 2021 for England and Wales) highlights that the proportion of people aged 65 and over has risen from 9.2 million in 2011 to 11 million in 2021. This equates to 16.4% of the population aged 65 and over in 2011, compared with 18.6% in 2021.

And these numbers are predicted to grow, particularly for the ages of 85 and over. The Office for National Statistics forecasts that the proportion of people aged 85 years and over will double by mid-2041 to 3.2 million - tripling by 2066 to 5.1 million.

An undersupply of suitable housing

According to a report published by JLL, 2029 will see a significant shortfall in senior housing. This is widely attributed to the growing older population, with retirement developers unable to build retirement homes quickly enough to meet the increasing demand. In turn, the gap between the supply and demand of retirement homes is set to widen.

A report by Knight Frank reiterates this observation, explaining that although there is a predicted rise in retirement stock from 2024 to 2027, this will fall short of the growing demand from aging populations.

Two senior women shopping in their local town, which is within walking distance of their McCarthy Stone retirement living development.

1. Targeting land buying

We buy land for retirement homes based on different criteria to mainstream housebuilders, including:

Centrally located brownfield sites
Close to amenities
Good transport connections
Regenerating town centre sites

The homeowners lounge within a retirement living development.

2. Effective planning and design

With over 40 years of experience, we have significant planning and design expertise, such as:

A specialist in-house planning team
A strong reputation with local authorities
Increased Government recognition of our product benefits

The exterior of a McCarthy Stone retirement development, featuring a large garden and outdoor seating.

3. High-quality construction

We focus on building high-quality retirement homes, ensuring every property provides:

Industry-leading quality and performance
Experienced subcontractors and established supply chain
Repeatable build processes

A McCarthy Stone sales consultant discussing moving to a retirement living development with a senior women and her son.

4. Specialist sales and marketing

As an award-winning retirement community developer, our trusted brand offers:

Specialist-trained sales teams
Expertise with over 40 years of experience
Dedicated customer service

A group of senior women sitting in the homeowners lounge.

5. Supportive property management and care

Every retirement development we create provides well-established management and care services, ensuring:

Dedicated in-house management service teams
House and Estate Management teams to undertake day-to-day running of developments
Added peace of mind for customers
Quality service underpins McCarthy Stone’s brand