- Founded in 2022, Untold Living is a recently established developer, owner and operator of retirement communities across England;
- The business is backed by London-based real estate investment firm, Matter Real Estate;
- The £26.4m loan from OakNorth will support the construction of a newly consented site in Shropshire, alongside the operation of a scheme in Wiltshire;
- By 2040, over 25% of the UK population will be of retirement age, increasing the need for more specialist housing designed specifically for those in later life1.
OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, has provided a £26.4m loan to newly launched and Matter Real Estate-backed developer-operator Untold Living.
Founded in 2022, Untold Living is a newly established developer, owner and operator of Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs) across England. Untold’s mid-market offering bridges the gap between high-end later living properties and housing associations by providing an affordable product that extends the IRC model to as many people as possible. This is supported by its innovative customer value proposition, which relies on a deferred management fee and smaller service charges to keep barriers to entry low.
The IRC service offering itself sits between the more traditional care home and retirement housing models, offering a community designed specifically for those in later life that adapts to the needs of residents as they grow older. Untold’s IRCs are designed with an in-house care team, flexible multi-purpose amenity spaces and on-site F&B offering.
Having acquired its first site in Westbury, Wiltshire, Untold currently operates one scheme with several more in the pipeline. The company is backed by London-based real estate investment firm, Matter Real Estate, whose partnership is helping the business’s ambitious plan to build a large portfolio of retirement villages over the coming years.
The £26.4m loan from OakNorth will be used to develop Untold’s 77-unit IRC in Newport, Shropshire, which recently achieved planning consent, as well as support the operations of its existing 68-unit Chantry Court site in Wiltshire.
Untold Living is actively seeking to acquire other suitable sites and assets across the UK to expand its portfolio and is open to discussions with landowners, landlords and agents, targeting a GDV of £300m for its initial development pipeline.
Russell Jewell, CEO of Untold Living, commented: “The UK’s retirement community sector is no longer in its infancy, but it still has many lessons to learn. Our approach has been to learn from best practice not only in the UK, but in countries such as the US and New Zealand, where the market is much more mature. As such, our focus has been on ensuring Untold Living’s developments have a thriving culture where residents are engaged, a low affordability barrier that democratises the product, and a flexible approach to amenities. We feel this is key to broadening access to the sector, which will ultimately reduce strain on the NHS, ease public finances, and enable our elderly citizens to live longer, more fulfilled lives.
“We were impressed by OakNorth’s reputation in the UK’s retirement living sectors. Lucas and his team were able to create us a bespoke funding package that supports our existing sites, and the development of our new site in Newport, saving us considerable time and effort. We look forward to working together as we substantially grow our pipeline.”
Lucas Anglin, Associate Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth, added: “Under the stewardship of its strong management team led by Russell, Untold Living has quickly built-up an impressive reputation for operating and building high-quality retirement communities. With new retirement housing stock continuing to lag well behind the rapidly increasing demand, driven by the UK’s ageing population, Untold is in the perfect position to capitalise on these growing tailwinds. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with Russell moving forward and look forward to supporting Untold on more IRC projects in the future.”
Alantra, led by Bobby Fletcher and Danilo Bardella, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Matter and Untold on the transaction.
ENDS
Notes to editors
[1] ONS – National population projections: 2021-based interim
About OakNorth
Launched in September 2015, OakNorth is the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, empowering scale-up businesses (£1m-£100m turnover) to support growth, prosperity, and innovation for the benefit of all.
Since its launch, the bank has:
- Lent over £10bn to these businesses, directly helping with the creation of 40,000 new jobs and 29,000 new homes across the UK.
- Raised deposits from c.254,000 savers.
- Supported several hundred businesses across the UK with the debt finance to pursue their growth ambitions.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.
Media contact
Tom Pavey-Smith, Associate Director, Growth & Communications – [email protected] / [email protected] / 0791 716 5588
About Untold Living
Founded in 2022, Untold Living is a developer and operator of high-quality, purpose-built retirement communities with care for the over-75s in the UK. The company owns and operates Chantry Court in Westbury, Wiltshire, and is set to deliver three more high-quality retirement villages in Newport, Shropshire, and Crawley, West Sussex and Eastbourne, East Sussex. Led by Russell Jewell, Untold Living provides later living properties across a range of tenure types at mid-market prices, including homes for purchase, rent and to buy through shared ownership. The company is actively targeting new sites to grow its portfolio over the coming years.
About Matter Real Estate
Founded in 2021, Matter Real Estate is a real estate investment firm that focuses on value-add and opportunistic real estate across Northern Europe. It takes an operational approach to investing in real estate, focusing on assets that meet fundamental end-user needs in evolving sectors where there is structural demand, but barriers to large-scale investment. Matter invests in sectors including, but not limited to, build-to-rent, single-family residential properties outside of gateway cities, affordable housing and primary healthcare centres. For more information, please visit www.matterrealestate.co.uk