Summerset takes out 127-year lease for Auckland village

Summerset takes out 127-year lease for sixth Auckland village

By Suze Metherell

July 22 (BusinessDesk) - Summerset Group, New Zealand's third-largest retirement village operator, has signed a 127-year lease for an undisclosed sum to build its sixth Auckland village.

The 2.5 hectare site on Parsons' Paddock in the eastern suburb of St John's was made available by St John's College Trust Board, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. Earlier this week Summerset announced it had bought 2.4 hectares in Warkworth to allow it to add 77 retirement units next to its existing Summerset Falls village.

New Zealand retirement village operators are acquiring land and preparing for a record building spree in anticipation of increased demand as people born in New Zealand's post-war era reach the target age for operators, including Summerset and its larger rivals Ryman Healthcare and Metlifecare.

Summerset said within in a 5 kilometre radius of its new St John's site there are 8,000 people aged 75 years and older, which is forecast to rise to 14,000 by 2031.

The retirement village operator reaffirmed its earnings guidance for underlying annual profit to be in the range of $32 million to $34 million in calendar 2015.

The stock last traded at a record high of $3.98 and has gained 44 percent since the start of the year, making it the second-best performer on the S&P/NZX 50 Index.

(BusinessDesk)

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