For immediate release: 14 February 2005

Big names form powerful new property partnership

Two big names in the property world are joining forces to form a powerful new partnership which will signal a huge shift in the housing sector.

Anton Bilton, Chairman of Raven Mount plc, and Nick Sanderson, founder and owner of Audley Court, have created a new company, Raven Audley Court. This joint venture will specialise in the development of quality housing schemes for the elderly of a type and on a scale not seen before in the UK.

Both men have a pedigree in the property and construction industry. Mr Bilton is the grandson of the late, great property developer Percy Bilton and Mr Sanderson is the son of Frank Sanderson, former Chairman of Bovis and founder of Bovis Homes.

Together with Raven’s Chief Executive Bim Sandhu, they plan to invest £100million in creating a UK-wide portfolio of assisted living centres in the next decade, building on the success and distinctive skills of the two companies. Raven has a versatile property and development portfolio but is renowned for its sympathetic listed building conversions; Mr Sanderson has considerable expertise in the care sector, pioneering a new style of independent housing for older people with his former company Beaumont Healthcare and, since 1991, with Audley Court.

The new joint venture will capitalise on the huge demand from older property owners for high quality housing with a versatile range of on-site 24 hour care and support services available
when needed. It is a style of living developed by Mr Sanderson at his two assisted living centres in Harrogate and Tunbridge Wells, which will now be managed by Raven Audley Court PLC. They offer landscaped developments of 71 and 67 homes respectively, grouped around a central mansion house providing shared facilities such as a gym, restaurant, library and swimming pool.

Prices range from £125,000 to £350,000 and in each scheme residents buy a cottage, apartment or bungalow, furnish it how they wish and pay a standard service charge, typically £500 a month, which can be topped up to pay for any additional services they require, from house cleaning and shopping to nursing care. They can cater for themselves or pay to eat in their own first
class restaurant.

A Grade I mansion and estate is at the heart of a further development in South Hams, Devon. Raven Audley Court acquired Flete House from the Country Houses Association in April 2004. Once the home of the Mildmay family, it was restored by Victorial architect Norman Shaw and retains original Tudor and Jacobean features. Plans have been drawn up to provide 30 apartments.

The former Grade I listed High Royds Hospital in Menston near Leeds is at the centre of an ambitious scheme to develop its 220 acre site into 650 homes, nearly 100 of which will be assisted living. Plans for the site, bought for £26million by the Raven Group in 2002, also include the provision of shops, offices, sport facilities, surgeries and a school. It will be the first time assisted living has been integrated into a new mixed use development for Audley Court and it could be a first for any major housing development in the UK.

The company has also applied for planning permission for 73 homes in Sevenoaks, Kent, on land adjoining the Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve and it will shortly have an application for up to 65 homes at Mote Park in Maidstone around the former Mote House, a magnificent Georgian mansion.

Mr Sanderson said: “This represents a huge shift, not only in the way housing for the elderly works, but also in the way the housing sector works. “People of retirement age currently make up a quarter of this country’s population and many are living in homes that are too big for them and which are costly to maintain but they are terrified of having to give up their property and a legacy for their children.

“That adds up to £480 billion of underused family accommodation, a housing logjam which our scheme has the potential to unlock.
If our purchasers acquire a home for two thirds of the value of their existing property then equity is released to fund future care needs.”

The Government has made it clear that the provision of extra care housing or assisted living is a central plank in its policy to replace the 250,000 residential care home beds around the UK.
“The demographics add up,” said Anton Bilton. “The UK has an ageing population and Nick’s concept of assisted living housing which is secure and hassle-free but of top hotel quality has to be the way forward.

“Over one million assisted living units have been built in the US and yet older people in this country are still struggling in their own homes or moving into outdated care homes. We are really excited about the opportunities that exist in the UK and feel our development expertise, combined with Nick’s care sector experience, can create a formidable presence.”

Mr Sanderson said: “I have long believed in this concept of gracious living for the elderly property owner. Fear of ageing can be replaced by the anticipation of new friends, an active life and the maintenance of independence. “I have been looking for the right partner with whom to develop the concept, someone with the financial depth, skill and expertise. Raven Mount PLC has shown it can carry out complicated refurbishments to award-winning standards, I very much look forward to working with Anton, Bim and their team to create a sizeable company in what will be a rapidly expanding sector.”