Having successfully secured a significant investment loan facility with Barclays, Pegasus is initially aiming to build out six new development sites across the country, creating over 300 new homes.

Work is due to start construction in early 2024.

These new communities will be available solely for rent to the over 60s community. This is on top of its existing 26 later living communities which already offer rental as a tenure option.

Steve Bangs, Pegasus’ CEO, said, “Our move to become the market leading build to rent developer and operator for seniors comes as a direct result of our customers selecting rental as their preferred option when choosing a Pegasus home.

“Renting is flexible, allowing our customers to be more agile when moving, as well as providing greater financial freedom and the ability to choose to move closer to family and friends. The need is clearly there, and we are responding to it.”

Recent analysis shows that those aged 55-64 years, alongside those aged 65 years and older, are the fastest growing segments of the private rented sector, increasing by 118% and 93%[1] respectively since the turn of the last decade.

Knight Frank paints a similar picture, in which their research reveals the number of private rental properties for seniors is expected to increase by 166% over the next five years, from almost 5,000 currently to more than 13,000, demonstrative of shifting attitudes towards homeownership in later years.

Bangs said: “I am very excited to be leading the business through the transition to become the market leading Build to Rent developer and operator in the seniors market.

“As we prepare for this change, we will continue to offer both home purchase or renting as options across all 26 existing communities available to move into today, before moving to be exclusively Build to Rent.”