McCarthy Stone gets 200 million pound financing to boost retirement home supply

(Reuters) - Infrastructure investors John Laing and Macquarie Capital will invest 200 million pounds ($274.76 million) in retirement homes developed by McCarthy Stone to help address the undersupply of elderly accommodation in Britain, the companies said.

Demand for specialist housing for the elderly is growing in the United Kingdom as the population ages, with private retirement units accounting for 0.6% of British homes, according to the estate agency Knight Frank.

The investors have formed a special purpose vehicle, Brigid Investments, in which they would hold a 50% stake each, to finance about 250 completed retirement units worth about 80 million pounds.

"(The investment vehicle) provides greater choice and more flexibility and allows more people to access the benefits of retirement living," McCarthy Stone Chief Executive Officer John Tonkiss said in a statement on Thursday.

The agreement also covers about 400 more completed and let units, worth about 120 million pounds, that will be acquired over the next 12 months.

John Laing's total investment commitment in the project amounts to about 50 million pounds, it said in a separate statement.

($1 = 0.7279 pounds)

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)