KBS Corporate Advise on Sale of Renaissance Retirement Limited

PegasusLife Limited has acquired Renaissance Retirement Limited, instantly doubling its portfolio of developments to more than 70.

Established in the late 1990s, Hampshire-based Renaissance Retirement is a leading retirement property developer, facilitating luxury independent living for the 55+ retirement market.

The shareholders of Renaissance Retirement approached KBS Corporate Finance as they wanted to find the ideal partner to continue, and accelerate, the development of the Group. Such a partner had to share a common vision for the future of the business and have the financial strength to match the directors’ ambitions.

KBS Corporate Finance established a proactive research process on a global basis which resulted in 18 expressions of interest, leading to an eventual deal being agreed with PegasusLife, a well-established luxury retirement housebuilder, backed by Oaktree Capital and AIG. Oaktree allocated an equity pool of up to £300m, which has been significantly enhanced by a £450m debt facility provided by AIG.

PegasusLife is currently seeking to acquire 100 sites over the next 5 years, particularly in the regions of, but not exclusive to, Central and Greater London, The South East and South West, West Midlands, Essex and Hertfordshire.

The deal was agreed as part of the acquirer’s growth plans, founded on the obvious synergies shared between the two companies. Both Renaissance Retirement and PegasusLife have thrived on creating and maintaining high-quality properties, whilst preserving an ethos of opulence, convenience and security for the contemporary older generation.

Chairman of Renaissance Retirement, Christopher Goddard, said: “We are very excited by this opportunity. The new enlarged PegasusLife Group is well positioned to address the chronic shortage in quality retirement homes throughout the UK.

“The continued supply and demand imbalance in this sector presents a huge growth opportunity for the Group going forward.”

Howard Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of PegasusLife, added: “The UK is still not building anywhere near the number of properties needed for our ageing population. Twenty-two million people – a third of the UK population – are now over 50 so the demand will continue to grow.

“We set out on a mission in 2013 to transform the retirement property market with a high-quality product and a transparent operating model. Adding Renaissance, a leading brand with similar values to the Group allows us to further enhance our product offer, geographical reach, as well as offer an even wider range of price points.”

With a projected turnover of £500 million by 2021, the new PegasusLife Group is set to become one of the biggest retirement developers in the UK.

Combined, the two companies have a joint gross development value of £1.7 billion, positioning the new group as one of the fastest growing retirement housing specialists in the UK. Both businesses will continue to operate under their existing management structures and head offices.

KBS Corporate Finance’s Managing Director, Julian Coy, advised Renaissance Retirement’s shareholders on the sale. He commented, “despite speaking to potential Private Equity investors and trade buyers from the USA, Asia and Europe, it soon became apparent that Pegasus Life were the perfect fit. The Retirement sector has some interesting demographics particularly at the luxury end and the two businesses are ideally placed to capitalise on this market opportunity.”