Healthcare real estate fund manager Lifento is launching a value add investment strategy early next year aimed at transforming and repositioning health clinics, retirement homes and hospitals across Europe.
The new strategy, which is currently in a roadshow phase to attract investors, is targeting assets under management of €200 mln and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 15% net over investment periods ranging from four to six years.
The fund will source properties throughout Europe, including the UK. It already has a pipeline of €100 mln worth of assets, including five key properties in Italy, Germany and the UK.
Lifento said the new strategy is aimed at maximising value creation for investors while supporting the modernisation of healthcare infrastructure across Europe, at a time when the region’s population is ageing fast.
By 2048, the proportion of people aged over 80 in the European Union will have risen from 6.5% to 12.8%, according to the firm. It said its new pan-European strategy would address demographic changes such as this by identifying and transforming underused assets, while creating new, modern facilities where necessary.
‘Lifento's value add strategy complements our offer by combining double-digit performance and positive social impact over a 5-year time horizon. We are proud to play a role in the transformation of healthcare infrastructure in Europe, while offering our investors attractive yields,’ said Frédéric Delleaux, founding partner of the firm.
The new strategy will vary its approach depending on the region: in Northern Europe, such as France and Germany, clinics and nursing homes mainly require renovation and the introduction of new technologies, Lifento said. Southern European countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal, on the other hand, suffer from a lack of adequate infrastructure.
The fund manager has already carried out several such projects in Europe, including the extension of a hospital in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. It has also repositioned two assets in Germany in collaboration with a local operator, bringing innovation and expertise to this market. More recently, Lifento fully financed and supported the construction of two nursing homes in Italian regions suffering from a lack of necessary infrastructure.
