On Thursday 12 November, I am delighted to be chairing a panel discussion at the Bisnow Senior Living Extravaganza. The session will look at how Britain's ageing demographic provides strong tailwinds for the later senior living sector and how to fund the housing needed by that population is no simple business and finding the right balance between profit and purpose will be a key element in getting it right.

Senior living has been tested like few other sectors of real estate by the impact of COVID-19. Staff, operators and owners dealt with a pandemic which disproportionately affected the residents of care homes and senior living facilities — and they coped admirably. And in spite of the short-term effects, the sector showed incredible operational and financial resilience: Occupancy fell, but rent collection was above 95%, according to JLL, far higher than sectors like retail, offices and even that darling of property investors, logistics.

Looking longer-term, the demographic tailwinds behind senior living are as strong as ever, with an ageing population in need of specialist later life facilities. The sector is maturing, with developers and operators offering differentiated products across the affordability spectrum, providing plenty of opportunities to access the market and capitalise on its expected growth.

On the virtual panel I will be joined by:

• Will Bax, CEO at Retirement Villages Group
• Michael Hodges, Managing Director, Care Consultancy at Christie & Co
• Jason Leek, CEO at Riverstone
• Anne Copeland, Head of Specialist Funds, Real Assets Equity at Aegon Asset Management
• Simon Hodson, Head of UK Healthcare at JLL

To find out more about the event and how to register, please click here.