This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
RETIREMENT living group Aura Holdings is on the lookout for a strategic, long-term partner as it looks to grow its portfolio by 1,500 apartments in the coming years.
Currently, the Aura has 538 apartments built across south east Queensland, with 201 under construction, including sites in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
Established in 2016 by Tim Russell and Mark Taylor, Brisbane-based Aura focuses on medium to high-end retirement communities in high median house price markets where there is an undersupply of seniors’ living product, as there is significant equity in the residential home which can be unlocked with a move into seniors living and which provides resilience against the broader residential market, it says.
Aura currently operates seven retirement villages incorporating 892 independent living units on completion. Aura also has an identified pipeline of growth opportunities and is seeking to broaden its capital base to co-invest on future projects alongside its existing funding partner, SC Capital Partners.
It believes there are strong demographic trends underpinning the sector and an opportunity for material growth in the platform. Structural shifts in demand via higher penetration rates are expected, as higher quality product is delivered to the market and macro demographic trends such as wealth impacts, affordability, convenience, and lifestyle improve the appeal of the retirement living sector, according to its founders.
JLL’s head of equity advisory – Australia, Luke Prokuda, who is working on behalf of Aura, said, “The business is in growth mode, with an identified development pipeline to grow the portfolio to 2,000-plus units over the next five years.
“There is significant potential to grow the scale of the Aura platform given Australia’s retirement living sector is underpinned by compelling demographic tailwinds, low penetration rates, a wealthy target demographic and strong risk-adjusted returns relative to traditional real estate sectors.”
JLL Research shows demographic trends remain strong for the retirement sector, with Australia’s 65-plus age cohort expected to comprise 23% of Australia’s population in 2061, up from 16% in 2020, which should drive organic demand for retirement living product.
Russell and Taylor have a combined 40 years’ experience in the retirement living sector and were previously responsible for running RetireAustralia, Australia’s largest privately owned retirement village operator.
“Mark and I are excited with and committed to the opportunity to grow the portfolio to 2,000 apartments over the next several years,” Russell said.
