Australian family scores $417 million windfall from business that grew from a trailer park
'More than ever before, older Australians are healthier, more active and looking for places that support the way they want to live,' Adrian Puljich said.
'[The listing] reflects the hard work and dedication of the entire GemLife team over the past eight years, and pays tribute to the decades of entrepreneurial groundwork laid by my father – a legacy that helped inspire my own path with GemLife.'
The GemLife brand was created in 2015 when the Puljichs teamed up with Singapore-listed Thakral Corp in a joint venture that Adrian has since run as chief executive.
The newly listed company is not alone in catering for retirees.
Established player Ingenia Communities is a direct competitor. The $2.2 billion ASX-listed property manager also develops and owns communities targeted at over-50s, as well as holiday parks and rental businesses. It reported improved revenues and profits last year on the back of turnaround efforts by its chief executive, John Carfi.
Another competitor, South Melbourne-based Lifestyle Communities, has a market capitalisation of about $844 million.
The land-lease community sector, with its steady annuity-style income streams, has been attracting institutional capital in Australia, with joint ventures and significant investments in recent years.
A year ago, Hong Kong-based real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners and Australian alternative real estate fund manager GreenFort Capital created a joint venture to acquire and develop a pipeline of $800 million in projects focused on communities for people over 50.
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Locally traded property giant Stockland has been expanding within the segment under the brand Halcyon, which it bought in 2021 for $620 million.
Limitations of the land-lease communities include fees that can potentially increase over time and regulations that are made at a state level, resulting in considerable variation between jurisdictions.
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