Retirement surge

DEMAND for retirement housing and equity release will surge as Britain’s population ages, says Legal & General boss Nigel Wilson.

The savings titan is betting older people will rush to withdraw cash from their properties by downsizing or taking out a loan.

It hopes to build more homes for retired people, and Wilson said that he expects the equity release market to grow in value from around £3bn to as much as £20bn.

L&G made a profit of £2.1bn last year, up 32pc on 2016, and hiked the dividend 7pc to 15.35p per share. Shares rose 1pc, or 2.5p, to 260.3p.