Retirement village investment vehicle Moorfield Audley Real Estate Fund has raised £85m in its latest round of fundraising to take its total raised to £285m.
UK real estate private equity fund manager Moorfield Group created MAREF in December 2015 to acquire Audley, a UK-based retirement village developer and operator.
This latest fund raising round creates a total war chest of more than £700m to be invested over the next five years, drawn from a combination of equity, development income and investment debt.
To date, the fund has attracted institutional investors from the US and continental Europe, and this new funding will support the acquisition and development of Audley Villages, as well as sites for its new mid-market proposition, Mayfield Villages. Audley will also operate the villages.
The 15 villages that sit under the Audley Villages brand will when completed provide at least 2,000 homes nationwide, while the planned at future Mayfield Village sites will provide around 500 homes.
Marc Gilbard, Moorfield Group chief executive officer, said: “Over the nine years we have worked with Audley we have seen that a strong management team, premium design and ambitious growth plans have led to the business being a significant success story.
“The retirement living sector has become one of the biggest growth areas in UK real estate. We decided to raise the additional capital from our present investors in the fund and we are very pleased to have reached our target. The new capital will give Audley the opportunity to acquire new sites, develop existing sites and allow the expansion of the business.”
Nick Sanderson, Audley chief executive, said: “This latest round of fundraising further underlines what we at Audley and Moorfield have known for some time: retirement living in the UK is a growth market, principally as a result of the significant shortage of retirement housing, and demand is now outstripping supply.
“Our market penetration is less than 1% in the UK, compared with 17% in the US, and 13% in Australia and New Zealand.
“This new investment will allow us to explore new sites for both the Audley and Mayfield brands, delivering the products and services that our customers demand. Our vision is to continue transforming the market by providing choice and quality housing.”
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