18 October 2007

Retirement Plus & Milton Homes in £100m merger

Leading home reversion providers, Retirement Plus and Milton Homes are pleased to announce that they have agreed to merge, thereby further consolidating their position in the equity release market.

The two businesses are already closely linked through having property fund adviser Delancey as shareholder as well as Retirement Plus administering Milton’s home reversion plans and arranging its new business pipeline.

The merger will consolidate a significant force in the home reversion market by creating a company with joint assets of approaching £100 million and with a significant market share of the home reversion sector.

It is anticipated that the merger will add momentum to the expansion of their joint product range but, more importantly, their capacity to introduce new products in the future will be considerably enhanced. The Retirement Plus business and product names will be unchanged. Milton Homes’ activities will rebrand under the new name of ‘Living Plus’.

The merged business expects to increase its number of employees over the coming year due to its anticipated expansion.

The merger process is expected to be completed by the end of November and is subject to Regulatory approval.

Duncan Young, Group Chief Executive, said: “This is a good time to consolidate our position in the market. We are extremely confident that the case for home reversion is being recognised by growing numbers of homeowners and their advisers.”

Commenting on the merger, Colin Wagman, Chairman of Milton Homes, said: “Since founding the business in June 2004 we have built up a significant market share in the highly specialised home reversion market. This merger, brings the known financial resources of Delancey together with Retirement Plus which has one of the most highly respected and well-established managements in this sector. We look forward to expanding our market presence rapidly and thereby working to satisfy the increasingly urgent need to support the UK’s ageing population with the flexible financial support that our products provide.”

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All media enquiries:

Retirement Plus
Duncan Young, Group Chief Executive
020 7907 8591 / 07775 783 431

Mainland PR
Zoe Butt / Neil Mainland
020 3008 7400

Editor’s notes

About Retirement Plus
Retirement Plus launched in 2005 and specialises in providing equity release products. The company is backed financially by property investors including FTSE 100 property company British Land, and the UK’s leading privately owned property-related asset adviser, Delancey.
Retirement Plus is authorised and regulated by the FSA and is a member of SHIP, the body which is dedicated entirely to the protection of planholders and to the promotion of safe home income and equity release plans.
Website: www.retirement-plus.co.uk

About Milton Homes
Milton Homes was established late last year to consolidate various investments with a value of over £75m in the home reversion market advised by Delancey. Milton Home Assets Ltd is authorised as a provider of home reversion plans by the FSA.

About Delancey
Delancey is a specialist investment advisor with over 17 years' experience of real estate and asset backed investment opportunities. Working with a wide range of clients, they take a diverse approach to creating value from property. Their innovative investment strategies exploit the potential of every aspect of real estate acquisition and management.
As well as sourcing and negotiating direct property and corporate transactions, Delancey advise on appropriate capital structures, procure third party financing and provides pro-active asset management and development services. Their recommendations include individual property investments, corporate investments, joint ventures and the creation of new businesses. They seek to deliver higher returns without sacrificing security.
Their approach provides the optimal balance between risk and reward and consistently delivers success. Indeed over the years their clients have seen highly competitive returns on their investments.
Website: http://www.delancey.com/