UK specialist real estate lender and investor Octopus Real Estate has announced the completion of a major portfolio deal to acquire eight new care homes from care home developer, LNT Care Developments, for over £100 mln (€110 mln).
Octopus Healthcare Fund, managed by Octopus Real Estate, has committed to acquire five of the care homes at practical completion and will forward fund construction of the remaining three homes over their 12-month build periods. The deal is one of the biggest portfolio purchases to date for the Octopus Healthcare Fund.
The eight new care homes are located in Wombourne, Nottingham, Wakefield, Cannock, Kidderminster, Swadlincote, Redditch and Salisbury, and will all provide full en-suite wetrooms and best-in-class facilities. Once complete, seven care homes will be let to Ideal Carehomes and one to Elmfield Care, each on a 35-year lease.
Knight Frank acted as selling agent for LNT Care Developments.
Chris Wishart, director of Origination, Octopus Real Estate, commented: ‘This portfolio acquisition is an exciting project for Octopus Real Estate which will deliver high quality care homes to eight communities across the UK. The sector still requires significant further investment given the UK’s ageing population, and we continue in our work to bridge that gap.’
Nick Kempster, Healthcare Agency and Development, Knight Frank, said: ‘We are seeing an increased flight to quality from operators and investors within the elderly care sector, particularly as the pandemic has highlighted the undersupply of future-proofed assets and the need for further development within the sector.’
