Prices for the 108 apartments at the AU$184M Battersea Place range from £535,000 to £3M ($912,000 to $5.1m). They haven’t turned off buyers though, with 74 already occupied and another 20 sold.
The properties are being sold on a 150-year lease, the standard tenure in the UK, with no option to rent.
The DMF structure gives residents two options after three years: 20% on the amount they originally paid when their apartment is sold, with the total capital gain shared 50/50 with LifeCare; or 30% on the sale price when they leave.
Village residents also pay a weekly fee of $420, while the 30-bed nursing home costs $3,700 per month.
It’s the latest development for LifeCare Residences International, founded and chaired by New Zealander Cliff Cook (pictured right with son Neville Cook on left), who was also behind Metlifecare, New Zealand’s second biggest NZX-listed village operator.
Worth $400M, Mr Cook moved into the British market in 2004 and now has three UK villages under his belt as well as another luxury development planned for London and two villages in Auckland.
Only 0.5% of the 65+ population in the UK live in retirement villages compared to over 5% in NZ according to LifeCare’s London CEO Richard Davis – it would seem Mr Cook sees an opportunity then.
Photo credit: Sarah Ivey.
