The move is designed to help NHS staff who need to be close to work and to help hospitals free up crucial beds during the health crisis.
John Tonkiss, chief executive of McCarthy & Stone said: “We have offered more than 300 of our newly built apartments to the Government to assist the NHS with their efforts to accommodate older people as they recover from Covid-19 or NHS key workers.”
The group is also implementing a series of cash-saving measures in order to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the business.
The group is pausing construction work across its entire development programme with the exception of certain specific sites which are close to completion.
The retirement group is also to bring a halt to land buying, while contractually committed land spend has been reviewed and minimised where possible.
All marketing activity has also been paused. Reservations, rentals and completions can still be taken in cases of need, but on-site sales offices are now temporarily closed.
All members of the board and wider leadership team are taking a voluntary 20% reduction in basic salary from 1 April until further notice.
Employees impacted by the above actions will either be redeployed to support homeowners or will qualify for support under the new government job retention scheme.
The group said these steps result in a cash saving of around £230m in the current financial year, compared to the board’s pre-Covid-19 expectation.
Alongside cost saving measures, the group is increasing care provision for those who live on its schemes. Its “Retirement Living PLUS” developments have teams on site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, while the retirement living developments have on-site support during the week and a dedicated out-of-hours helpline. To assist with the firm’s response to Coivd-19, it has also put in place strict hygiene practices across all developments and asked homeowners to limit access to all but essential visitors and observe social distancing.
The group has also set-up a response operation to rapidly manage suspected Covid-19 cases to minimise risk to homeowners, and established regular two-way communication with homeowners to advise them on how to reduce the risk of infection, stay safe, and prepare for self-isolation.
It is also engaging with the government to ensure front-line staff in retirement communities have access to sufficient personal protective equipment to enable them to carry out their important role in caring for older and vulnerable people.
Tonkiss added: “These are unusual and difficult times. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our services colleagues who have gone above and beyond over the past couple of weeks. Despite the challenging conditions we all face, their dedication and professionalism in continuing to ensure the health and wellbeing of our residents across the country has been truly admirable.
“We continue to make every effort we can to reduce the risk of infection across our developments and have called upon the government to ensure that our front-line care staff have access to sufficient personal protective equipment to enable them to carry out their important role in caring for more vulnerable people.”
On the financial impact of the health crisis, Tonkiss said: “As set out on 18 March, we are mindful of the significant impact of Covid-19 on trading in the coming months, so as a board we feel it is imperative to take the right steps as soon as is practicable to ensure the long-term strength of the business.
“We have a strong balance sheet and are now focusing on conserving cash while balancing the long-terms needs of the business, ensuring that we are able to continue to address the chronic under-supply of suitable housing for older people.”
Source: Residential - propertyweek.com
