Continuing the emergence of experienced retirement village operators re-entering the sector, Glen Browne has officially launched his Reside Communities, kicking off with the acquisition of two operating villages and one development project in and around Brisbane.
He has the backing of GreenFort Capital, a boutique Brisbane-based real estate funder with a background in student accommodation developments, and the $11B Hong Kong property fund Gaw Capital Partners.
Reside has acquired two villages from Michael Fallon’s Live Life Group, Samford Grove (17km north of Brisbane) with 27 built ILUs and a DA approved for 120 ILUs and ILAs, and the 120 ILU Brookland village at Robertson (12km south of Brisbane CBD).
They have also established a co-development strategy with Pacific Golf Club (14km east of Brisbane) to build up to 200 ILAs.
With GreenFort and Gaw Capital Partner’s backing, Reside is planning a portfolio of 1,500 village units over the next five to seven years, targeting QLD and NSW.
Browne was an FKP/Aveo alumni along with Tim Russell and joined him (and Mark Taylor) on the journey to grow RetireAustralia (previously Meridian) from scratch to the fourth largest village operator in the country. It was sold to the New Zealanders in 2015.
Russell and Taylor have since established Aura Holdings, now with Singapore funding, and have a stated objective of building a village portfolio of 1,500 units as well.
Interestingly, Browne has recruited his top four leadership team from RetireAustralia (pictured above: Kate Degnian, Tammie Carter, Glen Brown, Christa McCraw, Thanh Nguyen).
Also interesting – with their experience in marketing retirement villages – is how they position Reside in the market. This is a quote from their website:
“Why we’re different:
We know retirement communities are much more than bricks and mortar. Wellness - and happiness - come from a sense of community and companionship. So we create places with a culture that allows these things to thrive, and where people can genuinely feel at home.
Way before people experience our architect-designed apartments or our world-leading facilities, we want to be talked about for our level of service, our understanding, and the fact that we always put people first.”
