£26m loan funds Shropshire retirement development

Shropshire development (credit: Untold Living)

OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, has granted a £26.4m loan to the newly established developer-operator Untold Living.

The £26.4m loan from OakNorth will fund the development of a 77-unit integrated retirement community in Newport, Shropshire, which has recently received planning consent.

It will also support the operations of the existing 68-unit Chantry Court site in Wiltshire.

Founded in 2022, Untold Living specialises in developing, owning and operating Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs) across England.

Untold Living’s IRCs offer a blend of traditional care home and retirement housing models, creating communities specifically for later life, with in-house care teams, flexible multi-purpose spaces and on-site food and beverage options.

Supported by London-based Matter Real Estate, Untold acquired its first site in Westbury, Wiltshire and currently operates one scheme and has several more in development.

Russell Jewell, CEO of Untold Living, said: “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 practices 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, said: “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.”

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