It’s not just retirees who’ll benefit from increased investment in the sector. The U.K. government saves up to £1,540 ($1,915) per year for each person moving into senior living, according to Demos and The Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing.

It’s why the U.K.’s Housing with Care Task Force wants to help 250,000 people live five more healthy years by 2030, targeting a saving of £5.6 billion ($6.9 billion) for the UK’s health and social care systems.

“With no central NHS provision for social care, cash-strapped local authorities struggle to find funds,” explains Thorpe. “There’s huge appetite for something that bridges the gap between mainstream housing and care homes, making IRCs (integrated retirement communities) the fastest growing subsector in U.K. retirement living.” 

With demand on the rise – especially in metropolitan areas where space is at a premium – investors are repositioning real estate from other asset classes.

Residents can remain close to family and friends, with access to good transport links, shops, museums and theatres, while recruitment of skilled care workers is easier in cities, says Thorpe.

When it comes to repurposing properties, “office conversions work well due to good floor to ceiling heights for additional services,” explains Gladstone. “Hotels are ideal as they’re already subdivided and have multiple bathrooms, lifts and good building access.”

Affluent cities such as London are ripe for this type of development. In Central London’s exclusive Kensington neighbourhood, Loveday has transformed a former office building into 40 elegant apartments providing specialist dementia care, complete with spa, salon, library, roof garden, cinema and gym.

Providing more senior housing that better suits current and future needs, is in society’s wider interest. “It could have a ripple effect across the wider housing market,” says Thorpe. “By freeing homes for families and ‘second steppers’ it also releases stock for first time buyers.”

Ultimately, mixed-use integrated senior living helps deliver better quality of life and continuity of care. “Investors are now considering social value in their development strategies, and this model can help reduce loneliness and build new, mixed-use retirement communities” concludes Gladstone.