Main conference day

10 July

This year’s conference will look at how new business models are redefining the distribution of risk, reward and responsibility in the retirement community sector, and how a focus on active ageing and wellbeing can address the longevity phenomenon in the UK

Click here to download full PDF agenda

 

9:30 Registration and morning refreshments

10:20 Health spans vs lifespans - the third healthcare revolution

Delving into The Optimal Ageing Programme, Sir Muir Gray deliberates on: Live Longer Better – the end of retirement; Don’t Worry about Ageing; How to live longer better; The implications for society; and Increasing activity joyfully.

11:00 The middle market awakens

One of the most eagerly anticipated developments in our sector has been Audley Group's Mayfield Villages, who will build and operate large privately funded 'mid-market' retirement communities. This session will look at the extensive research on customer insight and product development that informed the Mayfield DNA.

11:20 Mid-morning refreshment break

11:50 Ministerial Address: Housing-with-care in a changing policy landscape

With housing featuring prominently in the new NHS long-term-plan and likely to play a big part in the forthcoming Social Care Green Paper, Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Care, will set out the government’s thinking on housing-with-care for older people, and how this fits into the wider policy context for our sector.

12:20 Mapping the 'care' in housing-with-care

How much care is provided in housing-with-care communities? Why is care in retirement communities so important, and how critical is it to customers? How does care delivery work from a business perspective? This session will combine the latest intelligence on care delivery with exclusive insights into internal ARCO research with members on volumes of care hours, take up, and how long it takes to reach the break-even point on care delivery.

12:45 Retirement Communities: The Logical Next Step for Care Home Operators

Care home operators are increasingly looking at the retirement community sector to provide an offer for people with lower support needs. In this session, we’ll hear how Hallmark Care Homes are approaching their entry into the market. 

1:00 Lunch and exhibition viewing

2:00 Retirement villages? Retirement cities!

Continuing on our topic of introducing UK audiences to insights from overseas, we will hear about approaches to ageing in China and South East Asia. With ‘retirement cities’ of 5,000+ units being developed in the region, what lessons can we learn for the UK sector?

2:30 It's a people business - but where are the people?

The quality of the general manager and staff are the key ingredient for running a successful retirement community. With challenging recruitment conditions in the service and care sectors, retirement community operators will need to be creative when it comes to shaping their workforce of the future. 

This panel session will bring together views from operators, recruitment experts and retirement community managers.

3:00 Ministerial Address: Delivering housing options for older people in the UK

The UK needs more housing options for older people. We are delighted that Housing Minister Kit Malthouse MP will set out the government’s priorities when it comes to planning and building the future supply of specialist housing for older people in the UK.

3:25 Mid-afternoon refreshment break

3:50 Consumer perspectives on risk and deferred fees

Drawing on exclusive focus group research conducted by ARCO, this session will look at attitudes towards event fees in return for higher levels of certainty, how relatives perceive the deferred fee model, and the importance of keeping ongoing charges low for 'asset rich but cash poor' older people in the UK today.

4:15 Aligning funding, long term returns and the customer proposition

Successful organisations in the retirement community sector need to be based on long-term, operational business models providing great and sustainable services to customers. This session will look at the underlying financial and operational mechanisms required to bridge property investment and long-term service delivery.

4:45 Challenges and Opportunities for the Industry

A high-level panel of sector leaders will discuss how the focus on operational models requires a shift in emphasis, highlighting both the challenges but also the opportunities presented by this model.

5:15 What next? Closing remarks

5:30 ARCO Annual Drinks Reception

The main conference day on 10 July will once again conclude with the ARCO Annual Drinks Reception, the largest drinks and networking event in the housing with care sector.