Retirement Living is one of the United Kingdom’s fastest growing sectors – estimated to be worth £55bn by 2023, but what is it and how is it changing things?


Retirement living at its core are a type of later life living communities with specially designed facilities and staff to enable older residents to live with support and connection whilst also enabling them to live mainly independently in an apartment or home.

While a far more established model in the United States, retirement living has in the past decade made a real splash in the UK. With an aging population there is a need to provide a diversity of options for those at that stage of their lives and retirement living helps to fulfill a major niche.

What are the benefits of this model? Well, research by ARCO and ProMatura International comparing those considering a move into the model to those already there found that retirement living residents stay healthier for longer, are more active, less lonely, feel more secure and most importantly enjoy life more!

There are also major benefits for broader society from retirement living, with a report by Homes for Later Living finding that each person in a retirement living community saves £3,500 to the NHS and Social Services every year and building more such homes could save as much as £2.1bn annually.

The issue of loneliness for older people is particularly resonant due to the effect of the pandemic and retirement living enables a much more social model than other later life options, with providers offering regular activities and a communal way of life – with the opportunity to make new connections a major draw.

What is the potential for those in the built environment sector to participate in delivering this vision? Well, there are some really significant plans on the way from major providers. This includes 5700 new over 55s homes from major retirement living provider Anchor, Inspired VIllage’s plans to expand their portfolio to 34 villages and Retirement Villages Group’s £2bn development plans.


There is also major interest from investors, with a £1bn investment by Octopus Real Estate, £350m from Oakbank North and Beaufort Capital scaling up their commitment to the sector.


We’re set to host an event covering the latest opportunities within Retirement and later life living with all these aforementioned names as well as many others. With over £6bn worth of development plans set to be explored on the day, we will be lifting the lid on the massive potential of this expanding sector.

Register for the Retirement and Later Living Conference here.