Levande eyes growth and upgrades after near-$1b retirement villages buy

New player in retirement living Levande plans to develop more villages and upgrade its existing lifestyle communities after its near-billion dollar entry into the Australian market.

Levande, a new brand launched by Sweden-based global investment firm EQT, is now one of the largest retirement living providers in Australia after EQT Infrastructure acquired Stockland’s retirement living business for $987 million.

Levande chief executive officer Suzanne Dvorak said the group plans to invest in regenerating and growing its portfolio of villages.

“We see a great opportunity to improve the quality of the existing assets as well as continue the development of new villages,” Ms Dvorak told realcommercial.com.au

“EQT is a growth investor and has the capital to invest in Levande’s existing villages as well as fund new development and acquisitions.

“It is also looking to fund the refurbishment of ageing villages in the portfolio and expand the services available to current and future residents.”

Levande and EQT plan to grow the portfolio of retirement living villages. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

EQT acquired Stockland’s portfolio of 58 established retirement living villages, home to more than 10,000 residents, and 10 development projects underway and in planning.

The villages are located in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT.

Ms Dvorak said Levande will undertake a detailed assessment across its whole portfolio in the next few months to guide its expansion and growth strategy.

“Levande will consider acquisition opportunities and new greenfield developments to grow the portfolio,” she said.

“At this stage there are no specific locations targeted – we will consider any attractive retirement destinations.”

The 10 future projects include a $200 million mixed-use ‘vertical village’ in the north-west Sydney suburb of Epping, where the sod turning occurred in the past week to mark the start of the development.

Ms Dvorak said the Epping development includes a 29-storey retirement living tower with 172 apartments, a gym and indoor swimming pool, a rooftop terrace, private dining room and a clubhouse with a cinema, bar and billiards room.

Rising demand as concept of retirement living evolves

Demand for retirement or lifestyle dwellings has been rising over the past decade, driven by Australia’s ageing population and changing perceptions around retirement living.

“The concept of retirement living itself is changing,” Ms Dvorak said.

“We think of it as ‘lifestyle living’ as many of the residents at Levande communities aren’t retired at all.

“They have chosen to live in a Levande community while they pursue their own goals, possibly still working in some capacity, and stay very active socially.”

The 2021 PwC/Property Council retirement census, released in February this year, showed there is a large development supply in the pipeline.

The 62 operators that participated in the census reported more than 10,500 independent living units coming on to the market over the three financial years from 2021/22 to 2023/24, from a mix of new villages, new stages of development and redevelopment of existing villages.

Ms Dvorak said Levande’s goal is to create modern, vibrant neighbourhoods where senior Australians can age in place and receive the services they need in their own home and community, without necessarily having to move out into an aged care setting.

“Across Australia and New Zealand, we have seen that the desire for retirement living has increased with residents placing a greater value on the sense of community and security afforded by retirement villages.

“They are also increasingly looking for communities where they can remain in their own homes with access to integrated healthcare services available on site.”

Levande and its backer EQT plan to expand the services available to current and future residents of their retirement villages. Picture: Supplied by Levande.

More than 300 employees moved to Levande as part of the acquisition of the Stockland retirement living business.

Ms Dvorak, a retirement living and aged care executive who was previously the managing director of Bupa Villages and Aged Care, said the other planned developments are at varying stages of progress.

Levande’s chairperson is prominent businessman David Gonski, who is the chancellor of the University of NSW, independent chair of Sydney Airport and former chairperson of ANZ.