What Next 2026 marks ARCO’s 10th conference - this session offers a timely opportunity to reflect on a decade of change in the IRC sector. What has driven progress, what has proved more challenging and where does the sector go next? Setting the scene for the discussions ahead, it will explore shifts in market segments, business models, public perception and the alignment of interests between operators, customers and policymakers

Speaker: Michael Voges, CEO, ARCO

There will be no session on data at What Next 2026 – because every session will be underpinned with data to shape debate, challenge assumptions and guide decisions. Drawing on newly collated sector data and customer research commissioned exclusively for this event, it will provide the foundation for clearer thinking, better questions and more confident action.

Speaker: Jonty Roots, Founder, Boomer & Beyond

What drives customers to choose IRC living — and what still holds some back? Across three connected sessions, we’ll explore the conditions that enable informed, confident decision‑making. From greater financial certainty and transparency, to the reality and perception of care, and ultimately to the confidence people need to make the move, each session draws on data, lived experience and operational insight. Together, they offer a clear view of how certainty, care and confidence intersect — and what this means for operators shaping propositions that genuinely meet customer needs.

In response to customer feedback, operators are reshaping offers and charging structures to provide greater certainty, transparency and trust. In short, operators are taking on higher levels of risk, matched by new lease structures aimed at providing higher levels of predictability over monthly outgoings.

This session examines how these changes are being delivered in practice. It will provide deep insight into three areas:

- Customer data and evidence: what is driving the move to providing more certainty for consumers?

Speakers: Sally Ireland, Director of Legal and Compliance, ARCO & Jonty Roots, Founder, Boomer + Beyond

- Operator showcase: Retirement Villages Group is undertaking lease variation programmes across their portfolio, and providing more predictable fee levels and risk mitigation for customers. What are the key drivers of this approach, and what is the customer response?

Speaker: Nick Jones, Property Director, Retirement Villages Group

- Working in partnership with the customer - lease variation in practice: Say Property Consulting have worked with hundreds of customers on lease variation projects for a number of providers and will talk us through the key considerations on communication, customer engagement and transparency.

Speakers: Casper Courage, Managing Director, and Coral Harvey, Senior Consultant, SAY Property

Care is a key component of the Integrated Retirement Community model—but how it is delivered, experienced and communicated remains one of the sector’s most important and complex questions. This session takes a comprehensive look at care provision in IRCs, exploring both the data and the lived reality, and what this means for operators shaping future propositions.

The session will cover three key areas:

- Data on care delivery and customer expectations, including the scale and nature of care provided, and what customers say they want—or worry about—when it comes to support to keep them living independently.

Speaker to be confirmed

- The operational reality of delivering care on the ground, including how domiciliary care works within independent living apartments, the role of assisted living packages, and implications for unit design and service models

Speaker: Keir Pedley, Yates Court Village Manager, ExtraCare Charitable Trust

- The implications for customer proposition and marketing, examining whether schemes risk losing customers by a) over-emphasising care b) under-communicating it c) or not offering sufficient clarity and choice

Speakers: Amanda Nesbitt, Managing Director (interim), Richmond Villages & Annabel O’ Gorman, Senior Sales Manager, Untold Living

Bringing these strands together, the session will offer a clear, evidence-based view of how care can be delivered in a way that meets customer expectations while supporting sustainable, high-quality operations.

What gives customers the confidence to make the move? This session explores how purpose, meaning and lifestyle expectations shape decision-making, alongside the concerns that can hold people back. Combining robust data with lived experience, the session will hear directly from customers, offering a clear view of what they expect to find and what they need to feel reassured about when choosing IRC living.

Speakers: Resident guest panel

Learning from international experience is critical as the IRC sector continues to evolve, with innovation often driven by ideas that cross borders. This session brings a global perspective, exploring the growing role of University Retirement Communities (URCs) in the US.

With a strong intergenerational focus, URCs combine independent living with access to lifelong learning, cultural engagement and vibrant campus life. They are rapidly gaining traction as a model that meets both social and intellectual needs in later life.
The session will be led by Andrew Carle, a leading authority on URCs, offering first-hand insight into how these communities are designed, delivered and why they are proving so successful.

Speaker: Andrew Carle, Founder, University Retirement Communities

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill promises the biggest shake-up to the English tenure system in centuries. It creates a pivotal opportunity for IRC operators to align tenure structures with the realities of running complex, long-term operational models. This session will explore the implications for providers and showcase practical approaches advanced by ARCO and its members, highlighting the benefits of a highly specialised tenure model which – while still using a number of basic leasehold principles – offers a significant departure from the traditional long leasehold system.

Speakers to be confirmed

Rental has moved rapidly from the margins to a core part of the conversation in Integrated Retirement Communities. For some customers, it offers flexibility, speed, and a lower barrier to entry. For operators, it opens new routes to market and different income profiles.

This session explores the opportunity through the lens of customer insight – looking at how preferences vary across income cohorts and life stages, and what that means for demand. Where does rental resonate most strongly, and where do ownership models (in various guises) still hold appeal?

We’ll also examine the commercial reality: which models are proving viable, how operators are structuring their offers, and how rental can sit alongside ownership as part of a broader, balanced proposition. In addition, we’ll look at the impact of the Renters Right Act on rental options in the IRC sector, and what this means for operators shaping their offers.

Speakers to be confirmed