Retirement Villages

Retirement Villages Group Ltd is a British residential property developer. Residents must be aged 55 or over to live in its developments, which are known as "villages". It was acquired by Axa for about £100 million in October 2017.^[1]

The company was founded in 1981 and the first development to be built was Elmbridge Village in Surrey. Princess Alexandra officially opened Roseland Parc, a new retirement village in Cornwall, in 2008.^[2]

The company’s head office is in Leatherhead, Surrey and its developments are located in Cornwall, Devon, Essex, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Surrey, Wiltshire, West Sussex and Warwickshire.^[3]

It owns 14 villages across Britain with 1,609 residents. Eight contain on-site care homes with a total of about 300 residents. In 2014/5 the firm had sales of £35 million and paid its six directors a total of £498,000.

In November 2016 it announced its intention to open seven more villages with a gross value of £200 million by 2021. The proposed locations would include Lower Shiplake in Oxfordshire, Saffron Walden in Essex, South Chailey in East Sussex, Merstham in Surrey and West Malling in Kent.^[4]

• Independent living

This is a scheme where residents live in private housing without direct care provision. However, services can be purchased and 24-hour emergency cover is in place.

• Assisted living

Residents live in separate properties within the grounds of an existing care home and services including care can be provided as required.

• Residential care

Some developments provide residential care for people who cannot continue living in their own home, even with home care services.

• Respite care

Some developments provide respite care, which gives temporary relief for primary carers.

• Official site