McCarthy Stone
McCarthy Stone is a developer and manager of retirement communities in the United Kingdom. For two periods of time the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was acquired by Lone Star Funds in January 2021. History. John McCarthy and Bill Stone became partners in 1961, and in 1977 they built their first retirement housing development in Hampshire. Subsequently they ceased other building work to concentrate on developing specialist housing for elderly people. By 1982, when the company was floated on the Unlisted Securities Market, the company had completed 15 retirement housing developments and was selling  around 200 units a year. Growth was rapid after the flotation, and by 1984 the company operated on a national basis with annual sales approaching 1,000 units. The business was exceptionally profitable due to a rapidly ageing population. Annual sales reached 2,601 units in 1988. The company was de-listed from the London Stock Exchange in December 2006 following a successful takeover bid of over £1 billion from a consortium including David and Simon Reuben and Sir Tom Hunter. The company was refinanced in August 2013 under new ownership and was re-listed on the London Stock Exchange in  November 2015. In 2020 the company announced a new partnership with Anchor to build and operate five ‘affordable for all’ retirement communities covering all tenures. In October 2020, the directors accepted a takeover bid from American private equity investment firm Lone Star. Shareholders approved the takeover offer worth £647m in December 2020, and the transaction was completed in January 2021. In 2021, the company announced a new investment partnership with Macquarie and John Laing to finance its new rental portfolio. The company is the only UK developer, of any size or type, to win the full five-star  rating in the Home Builders Federation's customer satisfaction awards every year the survey has been run. Services. The company's in-house Services teams operate its Retirement Living and Retirement Living PLUS (Extra Care) schemes built since 2010. In its Retirement Living PLUS schemes, services include the provision of CQC-regulated care and support. It is also the largest provider of new Extra Care developments in the UK. It remains as the landlord and managing agent on all developments opened since 2010, and hence is legally responsible for the operation of these schemes. As of September 2018, the company  provides a choice of tenure including rental and affordable and private shared ownership, an expanded care offering and more products, including the use of ‘Modern Methods of Construction’. Charity initiatives. In 2017, the company raised over £250,000 for the Royal Voluntary Service. The company's charity partner for 2019 was Beanstalk, a national learning and literacy charity for young children. The company has also supported several smaller charities. In 2020, it established the McCarthy Stone Charitable Foundation, which raised £230,000 in its first year.