Prime Minister Theresa May took time to pay a visit to Swift House, McCarthy and Stone's new Retirement Living Plus development on St Luke's Road in Maidenhead, which welcomed its first homeowners earlier this year.

After taking a tour of the development and stopping to chat to homeowners as they enjoyed lunch in Swift House's on-site Bistro, Mrs May commended its support staff for their hard work and dedication to improving the lives of older people.

Mrs May went on to meet McCarthy and Stone's Chief Executive Officer, Clive Fenton, and Regional Managing Director, Brendon O'Neill, to discuss the success of the new development which is already more than 50% sold, as well as the company's broader commitment to building more specialist retirement housing, and how it can help to address the social care and housing crises.

Mrs May commented: “Swift House provides an excellent option for those in retirement to downsize and benefit from a supportive environment while maintaining their independence. And it's clear its staff work very hard to make Swift House a safe and welcoming place to live.

Clive Fenton, Chief Executive Officer at McCarthy and Stone, said: “It was a real pleasure to welcome the Prime Minister to our Swift House development in Maidenhead. I'd like to personally thank her for her time, and for speaking so highly of the work that has been carried out here.

“Increasing the supply of retirement housing is vital to meeting the demands of our increasingly ageing society, while raising housing output and diversifying the market. It also frees up the wider housing chain through a trickle down effect: each person moving into a retirement apartment typically frees up a minimum of two further moves on the ladder which could be for a family or a young couple buying their first home. The benefits are wide reaching, particularly where it can reduce adult social care bills by keeping people happier, healthier and independent for longer, taking some of the strain away from the NHS and the public purse.”

The UK's leading retirement housebuilder, McCarthy and Stone, designs and builds age-exclusive developments that cater for older people who want high-quality, centrally located housing that allows them to maintain an active and independent lifestyle, surrounded by the right support and which is tailored to their individual needs.

Offering an attractive selection of 60 one and two bedroom Retirement Living Plus apartments, exclusively designed for people aged 70 and over, facilities at Swift House include a homeowners' lounge, ideal for socialising with friends, landscaped gardens, a bistro-style restaurant, and a convenient guest suite should homeowners have friends or relatives to stay. Swift House also benefits from its very own Estates Manager, Jacob Lowe, who takes care of the smooth-running of the development, while a security entrance system and 24-hour emergency call points provide added peace-of-mind for both homeowners and their families.

To find out more about Retirement Living Plus at Swift House, please contact McCarthy and Stone on 0800 201 4743 or visit: www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/swifthouse.

 -ENDS-

Notes to editors:

 McCarthy & Stone is the UK's leading retirement housebuilder, with a c.70% share of the owner-occupied market[1]. The Group buys land and then builds, sells and manages high-quality retirement developments.  It has built and sold more than 51,000 apartments across more than 1,100 developments since 1977.

McCarthy & Stone's developments offer one and two bedroom apartments across the country in a wide variety of locations, from city centres to rural villages and coastal areas.  Retirement Living developments provide independence in private apartments designed specifically for the over-60s, as well as facilities such as shared lounges and guest suites that support companionship.  Retirement Living Plus developments (formerly Assisted Living), which are designed specifically for the over-70s, offer all of this plus more on-site facilities such as restaurants, well-being suites and function rooms.  Importantly, they also provide flexible care and support packages to assist those needing additional help.  Finally, Lifestyle Living developments, (previously known as Ortus Homes), are exclusively for over-55s and are intelligently designed for downsizing to enhance customers' leisure years.

All developments built since 2010 are managed by the company's in-house management services team, providing peace of mind that it will look after its customers and their properties over the long term.  This is a key part of how McCarthy & Stone seeks to enrich its customers' lives.  McCarthy & Stone Management Services (MSMS) provides management services in Retirement Living and Lifestyle Living developments.  Each Retirement Living development typically has a dedicated House Manager on-site five days a week during working hours, managing the day-to-day running of the development while also helping to facilitate various social activities.  Each Lifestyle Living development has a visiting manager who is in charge of all aspects of property maintenance. 

YourLife Management Services (YLMS), which is owned 50/50 by MSMS and Somerset Care Group, a leading not-for-profit care provider, provides management services, domestic assistance, catering, personal care and additional support in Retirement Living Plus developments, and each development is run by an Estate Manager and a team of staff to deliver these services, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  

McCarthy & Stone is pleased that the quality of these products and services means that more than nine out of ten customers would recommend the company to a friend, ensuring the company has received the full Five Star award for customer satisfaction from the Home Builders Federation for 12 years' running.  McCarthy & Stone is the only UK housebuilder of any size or type to achieve this accolade, which is every year the awards have been run.  It also won 'Best Retirement Scheme' at the annual Housebuilder Awards in 2016. 

There is a growing demand for specialist retirement housing of this type, with the number of people aged 85 and over in the UK expected to more than double between 2015 and 2035, from 1.5 million to 3.2 million, and the number of people aged 65 and over expected to increase by more than 50%, from 11.6 million to 17.2 million[2].  According to research by Demos, 1 in 4 over 60s are interested in retirement living[3],, yet only
c.141, 000 units of specialist retirement housing for homeowners have been built[4]. 

For further information, please contact Louise Eling at McCann PR on 0121 713 3621 or email corinna.henson@mccann.com. 

[1] Based on 3,453 registrations of cross tenure properties specifically designed for the elderly with the NHBC during calendar year 2015, of which 2,672 were registered by McCarthy and Stone.

[2] Population projections by the Office for National Statistics (2014 based).

[3] Demos- Top of the Ladder (2013)

[4] Elderly Accommodation Counsel (April 2016)