We need land to build great places to live
McCarthy Stone is the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities. Our developments are thoughtfully designed to help our homeowners make the most out of life.
For over 40 years, we’ve built sociable retirement communities that enrich the lives of our customers and their families. Quality and service are integral to everything we do. That’s why we’re the only developer to achieve five star customer satisfaction ratings from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) for 16 years – that’s every year since the awards began. We’re the only developer to hold this accolade.
You can find out more about our business model, including planning, construction and customer care here.
Can you help us to buy land?
Over the last four years we have acquired almost 200 sites equating to a investment in land approaching half a billion pounds.
As demand for retirement communities continues to grow, so does our ambition to provide greater numbers of high-quality age-exclusive developments. We’re always keen to connect with landowners, property specialists and agents across England and Wales to secure the land we need.

Professionalism, efficiency, expertise – these are the qualities we’ve nurtured so that when we agree to buy a site, we can perform a swift turnaround with optimum return for vendors.

When I get out of my car on that first visit to a potential new site I immediately put myself in a homeowner’s shoes. As I walk around I ask myself: ‘If I lived here, would this location help me to maintain my independence?'
We aim to make it easy for you
With over 40 years of expertise and experience in buying sites and obtaining planning permission, you can rely on us for a smooth, straightforward and quick acquisition process. We pay a generous commission for all successful introductions, too.
Get in touch
We want to hear from you if you own, or know of, land that might be suitable for our developments, email [email protected].
Download our Land Wanted brochure for more information.
What we are looking for
Our typical site criteria:
- Within half a mile/easy walk to shops and amenities
- Good public transport links
- Centrally located, typically brownfield land
- Land of 0.6 to 6 acres (0.2 to 2 hectares)
- Scope for three-storey (or higher) development
We consider every type of land deal, whether unconditional purchase, conditional contract, or option agreement. And we’re not shy of a challenge – we’ll always consider ‘difficult sites’.
Examples of good potential sites:
- Local authority surplus car parks or buildings
- Police and fire stations
- Garages
- Car dealerships
- Care homes
- Office buildings
- Sports grounds
- Garden centres
- Depots
- Hotels and elements of larger sites owned by house builders.
Get in touch: email [email protected].

Learn more about our business model