Silbury Finance, the Oaktree Capital Management-backed development lender, has provided Audley Group, the UK retirement village provider, with a £59 million investment facility, secured against four retirement villages located across Greater London and the Midlands.
The two-year, 75% LTV facility refinances an existing loan and will support Audley as it progresses with the sale of the final 118 homes across the four villages. They are located in Chalfont Dene, in Buckinghamshire, Cooper’s Hill, in Surrey, Ellerslie, in Worcestershire and St George’s Place, Birmingham (pictured).
Comprising 466 units in total, each of the villages offers high-quality retirement living, with facilities including a swimming pool, gym, hair salon, library and restaurant, as well as access to landscaped environments. Support services are also available at all the villages for property owners and the local community 24 hours a day through Audley Care.
The sustainability performance of each scheme is subject to regular external benchmarking.
Inclusive of this transaction, Silbury has now provided £200 million of funding in the retirement living sector, across seven schemes. This is the second loan Silbury has provided Audley, which currently owns a portfolio of 21 retirement villages across the UK. Reflecting continued demand for its products, Silbury has originated c. £230 million of new lending since July.
Gavin Eustace, founding partner at Silbury Finance, said: “The structural trends underpinning the UK retirement living investment case are highly compelling, namely a rapidly growing population of over 65s and the significant shortfall of suitable accommodation. We also view it as highly defensive versus other real estate subsectors in the current high inflation environment, given the wealth preservation characteristics of its end-user.
“The pool of lenders with the track record, expertise and funding certainty to consistently underwrite larger loans in the space is small. Despite current market volatility our deal pipeline is strong, which should enable us, in partnership with best-in-class sponsors, to maintain our loan book growth.”
Gary Burton, CFO, Audley Group, added: “We’re very pleased to be further strengthening our relationship with Silbury Finance. This facility is a progressive step forward for Audley, increasing leverage for a smaller security pool, and for the integrated retirement sector more generally. Our sector is chronically underserved and prime for expansion, driven by an ageing population, increasing demand and growing investment levels.
“Ongoing relationships like this one with Silbury Finance enables us to give more people, more choice over where and how they live as they get older. We look forward to working with the team on our shared social impact and sustainability values both now and in the future.”
