McCarthy & Stone
Encyclopedia
McCarthy & Stone plc is a British
residential property developer based in Bournemouth
on the south coast of England
which constructs and sells private retirement homes.
, Hampshire. The new McCarthy & Stone company stopped all its other building work to concentrate on sheltered housing . By 1982, when the Company was floated on the Unlisted Securities Market
the Company had completed 15 sheltered housing developments and was selling around 200 units a year.
Growth was rapid after the flotation and by 1984 McCarthy had a national organisation in place with annual sales approaching 1,000. The business was exceptionally profitable due to the high densities achieved and the limited competition. Annual sales reached a peak of 2,600 in 1988 but a combination of the property recession and new firms entering the sheltered housing market meant substantial losses in the early 1990s. McCarthy & Stone enjoyed support from the banks and was able to raise fresh equity; with much of the competition now vanished, the firm enjoyed a revival.
The company was delisted 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 global financial crisis during the second half of 2008 precipitated difficulties in the housebuiling sector and McCarthy & Stone underwent a signficant financial reorganisation in 2009 with a significant debt to equity transaction. This resulted in a number of major banks and lenders becoming shareholders in the Company including HBOS
and HSBC
.
. In addition, regional offices are located in Glasgow
, Altrincham
, York
, Coventry
, Byfleet
and Bournemouth
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
residential property developer based in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
on the south coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
which constructs and sells private retirement homes.
History
John McCarthy and Bill Stone entered partnership in 1961 as general builders and it was not until 1977 that they built their first scheme of sheltered housing for sale at New MiltonNew Milton
New Milton is a market town in south west Hampshire, England. The town has a high street and holds a market every Wednesday. Situated on the edge of the New Forest, the town is about 6 miles west of Lymington town centre and 12 miles east of Bournemouth town centre.-History:New Milton dates back...
, Hampshire. The new McCarthy & Stone company stopped all its other building work to concentrate on sheltered housing . By 1982, when the Company was floated on the Unlisted Securities Market
Unlisted Securities Market
The Unlisted Securities Market , which ran from 1980 to 1996, was a stock exchange set up by the London Stock Exchange to cater for companies too small to qualify for a full listing....
the Company had completed 15 sheltered housing developments and was selling around 200 units a year.
Growth was rapid after the flotation and by 1984 McCarthy had a national organisation in place with annual sales approaching 1,000. The business was exceptionally profitable due to the high densities achieved and the limited competition. Annual sales reached a peak of 2,600 in 1988 but a combination of the property recession and new firms entering the sheltered housing market meant substantial losses in the early 1990s. McCarthy & Stone enjoyed support from the banks and was able to raise fresh equity; with much of the competition now vanished, the firm enjoyed a revival.
The company was delisted from the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in December 2006 following a successful takeover bid of over £1 billion from a consortium including David and Simon Reuben
David and Simon Reuben
David and Simon Reuben are well known British businessmen and philanthropists. In the Forbes magazine List of billionaires 2011, ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, the brothers were placed second with an estimated fortune of £5.5 billion...
and Sir Tom Hunter
Tom Hunter
Sir Thomas Blane Hunter is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.In April 2007, Hunter was reported in the Sunday Times Rich List as the first ever home-grown billionaire in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £1.05 billion...
.
The global financial crisis during the second half of 2008 precipitated difficulties in the housebuiling sector and McCarthy & Stone underwent a signficant financial reorganisation in 2009 with a significant debt to equity transaction. This resulted in a number of major banks and lenders becoming shareholders in the Company including HBOS
HBOS
HBOS plc is a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group having been taken over in January 2009...
and HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
.
Retirement Living Apartments
Each development incorporates features specifically for the older homeowner, to make life easier in retirement. A typical development consists of circa 40 one and two bed apartments plus communal facilities such as a residents’ lounge, guest suite and laundry. Residents have to be 60 or over to live in most developments.Assisted Living Apartments
Assisted Living apartments bridge the gap between a conventional retirement development and a Nursing or Care Home. Assisted Living can help postpone the need to consider residential care and the person continues to own their own home. Communal features include a restaurant, 24 hour staffing and domestic assistance. Residents have to be 70 or over to live in most developments.Tailored Care Living Apartments
Tailored Care Living offers flexible care and support to meet the differing and changing individual needs of residents. This care and support is available 24 hours a day from the on-site care team – YourLife Management Services, a partnership between McCarthy & Stone and Somerset Care Group, one of the UK’s largest and experienced not for profit care companies.Offices
The Company’s head office is in BournemouthBournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. In addition, regional offices are located in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, Byfleet
Byfleet
Byfleet is an inland island village forming a suburb of Woking in Surrey, England. It is in the east of the borough between the River Wey and the River Mole, and is within the M25 motorway....
and Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
.