OakNorth Bank has provided a £50m loan to Brigid Investments, a special purpose vehicle formed by John Laing and Macquarie Capital to invest in McCarthy Stone’s retirement property rental portfolio.
The capital from OakNorth Bank will support the acquisition of approximately 250 newly built and fully occupied rental retirement properties, operated by McCarthy Stone.
The units, which are spread across the UK, are split into two brands: Retirement Living - apartments designed specifically for over-60s with facilities such as communal lounges and Retirement Living PLUS - apartments designed for over-70s that offer extra facilities such as restaurants, on-site care and support packages.
The loan facility will also provide Brigid Investments with the opportunity to develop a scalable platform moving forward, in partnership with McCarthy Stone, resulting in a commitment to finance a further 400 rental retirement units over the next 12 months.
“Retirement living is a market with high barriers to entry and strong fundamentals, underpinned by an ageing population and constrained supply. We were delighted to work with Damien and the team at OakNorth Bank whose understanding of the retirement living sector was impressive,” said Brigid Investments chief executive Richard Williams.
“They structured a flexible and attractive facility that will have a significant impact on our future growth ambitions,” he added.
