Media release: Derek McMillan’s New Venture in Retirement Living

23 May 2019

18 months after leaving Australian Unity, Derek McMillan has teamed up with former Australian Unity CFO Tony Connon to re-enter the retirement living market.

Derek said that his new organisation, Centennial Living, will seek to improve on accepted financial benchmarks for the sector by focussing on retirement villages that offer both independent and assisted living options for residents.

Derek believes that the combination of retirement villages and assisted living services will provide significant benefits for both residents and investors.

While historically most retirement villages do not support a continuum of care, residents are increasingly seeking access to additional services in order to avoid moving into residential aged care,” Mr McMillan said.

While not ruling out developing new communities in the future, Mr McMillan believes that a significant opportunity exists today with established villages.

“We are working to increase the service proposition of existing villages, in order to build communities more aligned to the needs and wants of the socio-demographic profile of residents.”

Mr McMillan has received a positive response from the investment market to this business model and is working on the acquisition of established villages with leading real estate investment firm Qualitas.

“Qualitas has an impressive record in real estate investment and has demonstrated an appetite for a significant portfolio of enduring quality, so we are pleased to partner with them.”

For their initial portfolio, Centennial Living and Qualitas have entered into an agreement to acquire three villages, located in Melbourne’s north-west, from Stockland.  They are actively seeking to grow the portfolio further through the acquisition of additional mature villages in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

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