Who Made ALFA’s 2012 Largest Senior Living Providers List?

Senior Living Executive, the Assisted Living Federation of America’s magazine, has just released its annual list of the nation’s Top 80 Largest Providers, topped this year by Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD). The list ranks for-profit senior living operators by total resident capacity as of the first of the year, as reported by each company.

“REITs and recovery” is the list’s theme this year, according to the accompanying magazine article.

“When investors feared to tread in other real estate sectors, large REITs rushed into what they saw as the safety net of senior living,” says ALFA. “And while new construction remained at low levels, absorption increased and the acquisitions market explored, accounting for significant movement and consolidation among both large and midsize operators on this year’s list.”

M&A Shakes Up Top 80 List

Brookdale Senior Living ousted Emeritus Senior Living as the largest senior living provider in 2012, with a resident capacity of 63,472, after acquiring the operations of Horizon Bay Retirement Communities, which had ranked seventh on the 2011 list.

In fact, several management deals made last year were so large that they “wiped three well-known companies off the Largest Providers list” and moved others down, according to ALFA.

Emeritus got bumped down to the number two spot after Brookdale’s acquisition, but the rest of the Top 5 remained unchanged, with Holiday Retirement at #3, followed by Sunrise Senior Living and Life Care Services LLC.

Companies that didn’t make it onto this year’s list include Bell Senior Living, after REIT Senior Housing Properties Trust acquired 22 of its properties, and Hearthstone Senior Services, following Elmcroft Senior Living’s acquisition of the operations of 32 of its assisted living and memory care communities.

Top Providers for Independent and Assisted Living

In 2012, total operational resident capacity rose 9% to nearly 504,000, with about 49% in independent living and about 47% in licensed assisted living.

Emeritus remains the largest assisted living provider, with a capacity of 32,033, followed by Sunrise Senior Living (capacity 27,705) and then Brookdale (26,275).

Holiday Retirement is the largest independent living operator, with a capacity of 40,440, with Brookdale in the number two spot at 30,767.

As for memory care providers, Emeritus leads the way with a resident capacity of 8,601, followed closely by Sunrise, with 8,327.

Check out the full list and accompanying story in the March/April edition of Senior Living Executive (the list starts on page 20).

Written by Alyssa Gerace