Social value
The Integrated Retirement Community model has a direct social impact across many areas of society. At Audley, we make a considerable contribution to the enhancement of the lives of our customers, including the following:
Property owners
Audley’s retirement villages, with comprehensive care and support services, help older people improve their independence, and with the extensive communal facilities and village events they provide excellent opportunities for social interaction. In turn, this helps to combat loneliness and leads to improved physical and mental well-being and ultimately and enhanced quality of life – enabling people to live better for longer.
Loneliness is as big a mortality risk as diabetes. Research links social isolation to dementia, heart disease, stroke, depression and a 29% greater risk of dying. There is a clear correlation between having a large social network and living longer (Octopus Group, Future Generations Report, 2022).
Team members
We know that our team members are central to delivering our ambition, so our people strategy aims to promote a culture where people want to, and can be, their best. By supporting our team members and striving for the highest levels of satisfaction, we know our owners will be cared for to the highest standard. Our company values of Caring, Enriching, Exceptional and Proud, are core to everything we do, and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DE&I) is central to this.
Read more about some of the recent DE&I initiatives we have implemented in our recent ESG Report.
Local communities
It is important to us that we are good neighbours to the communities surrounding our retirement villages. As well as having a positive impact on underutilised housing and relieving pressure on the NHS, our villages also provide services directly to the local community:
- Our restaurants are available for members of the local community to enjoy
- Through membership of the Audley Club, local residents aged over 55 are able to make use of the health club facilities including gym, salon, swimming pool, sauna as well as personal trainers and exercise classes
- Our villages often run community events such as Christmas Fairs and Summer events which are well attended by our local neighbours
- The Audley Foundation was launched to enable Audley to collectively organise the fundraising of our owners, community customers and team members to “make a lasting difference to the lives of less fortunate older people”. As part of its social responsibility, the Foundation continually aims to have a positive impact on local communities, and donations will be made to local charities identified by owners and team members.