Thakral Corp in joint venture for retirement housing in Australia

Mainboard-listed Thakral Corp has tied up with the Puljich family, the developers and owners of retirement resorts in Australia, to develop resort-style retirement villages for over 50s to tap the rising demand for retirement housing in Australia.

The joint venture company GTH Resorts is equally owned by Thakral's subsidiary, Thakral Capital Australia Pty Ltd (TCAP) and PVAP Pty Ltd (PVAP) and will develop the retirement villages under the brand "Living Gems - A Thakral Joint Venture".

Living Gems, created by the Puljich family, is a "vertically integrated family-owned business that develops and operates world-class retirement communities" with more than 1,100 dwellings, said the firm in a statement.

GTH Resorts plans to acquire sites in south Queensland and northern New South Wales to develop more than 1,000 retirement homes before expanding into other major cities and regions in Australia.

Suitable sites to be developed into resort style retirement communities of 150 to 450 homes range from 5 hectares to 30 hectares.

The joint-venture company recently signed a contract for A$6.25 million (S$6.43 million) to acquire a 8.46-ha site at Highfields in Queensland's Toowoomba region, about 125 km from Brisbane and the first of several sites to be acquired; the land acquisition for the building of a retirement community with more than 200 homes is subject to regulatory approvals.

Total development cost of the Highfields project is estimated at A$35.7 million and will be funded from internal sources, sales proceeds from the homes and bank loans.