Audley Retirement has instructed Wates Construction and Balfour Beatty to complete separate large scale design and build construction contracts on the sites of two new villages.
Wates will be involved in the construction of a new village in Great Malvern – Audley Ellerslie – in a contract worth £28 million, while the £37 million Balfour Beatty contract will develop Audley’s twelfth site, Redwood, on the outskirts of Bristol. These instructions take the value of contracts on live construction projects to over £250m.
Audley currently owns 12 villages and manages two more providing over 1,000 properties and will double this number over the next five years by developing its current villages and new site acquisitions. The latest deals are part of a period of significant expansion for Audley.
Most recently, this includes the purchase of the site of the former Stanbridge Earls School in Romsey, Hampshire, as well as the opening of new village, Chalfont Dene, in Buckinghamshire, and the exchange of contracts on its first satellite site near Audley Binswood in Leamington Spa, both of which have been delivered by Wates.
Work on Audley Ellerslie started in January 2016, after planning permission was granted to build on the site of the former preparatory school of Malvern College. Properties in the first phase of the development are due to be completed in the second quarter of 2017. Construction on Audley Redwood began in October 2015, with the first phase scheduled for completion in Autumn 2017.
Kevin Shaw, Development Director at Audley, said: “These instructions demonstrate our continued commitment to meeting demand for quality, luxury retirement living; demand which is only increasing as the years go on. The developments are an exciting step forward in this process and we are pleased to continue our relationship with both Wates and Balfour Beatty in delivering them to the highest standards.”
Phil Harrison, Managing Director, Wates Construction, Midlands and North, commented: “Our appointment to create a premium retirement village in Great Malvern marks our continued working partnership with Audley, which has also seen us deliver outstanding retirement living developments at Chalfont Dene in Buckinghamshire and Binswood Hall in Leamington Spa. Throughout this relationship, Wates has further cultivated its expertise in the retirement sector, which will enable us to once again realise Audley’s ambitious vision to create a development that sets the bar for luxury and quality.”
Dean Banks, managing director of Balfour Beatty’s UK Construction Services, said: “Having worked with Audley on its Clevedon and St Elphin’s Park retirement villages and currently delivering St George’s Place in Edgbaston it’s very pleasing for us to be involved in the construction of Audley Redwood. We look forward to getting started on what is sure to be a fantastic addition to the Audley portfolio.”
Audley Retirement Villages’ turnover grew more than tenfold between 2009 and 2015, from £4.2m to £42.9m. Turnover will grow to £100m in 2016 alone with an investment of £600m over the next five years, a combination of equity, development income and investment debt.