Lone Star sells £450m UK healthcare portfolio

Lone Star has agreed to sell its £450m Quercus healthcare business to Aedifica. It is the Belgian real estate firm’s debut transaction in the UK. The portfolio includes 93 properties, largely purpose-built care homes. Roughly a quarter of the rent comes from assets based in London and the South East. The deal reflects a gross initial yield of 7%. Stefaan Gielens, chief executive of Aedifica, said: “By entering the UK market, Aedifica adds a fourth country to its portfolio and anchors its strategy as a pure play investor in European healthcare real estate. “The UK provides an attractive investment opportunity for Aedifica since the healthcare market is still very fragmented and the ageing population leads to increasing demand for care assets.” The portfolio will be acquired at a 5% discount to its fair value. The purchase will be financed through existing and new debt facilities already in place. Aedifica will manage and expand its UK portfolio with the support of asset manager Leyland Walker. The deal is expected to close at the end of January. Earlier this year, Lonestar appointed Numis Securities to explore a potential sale of the business that it took full control of in 2016. It paid Aviva Investors £250m to buy them out of the company. Prior to that it already owned 12% in Quercus through its previous acquisition of Quintain, as well as further interests in the firm through its purchase of the £2.3bn Project Churchill loan portfolio in 2015. To send feedback, e-mail anna.ward@egi.co.uk or tweet @annaroxelana or @estatesgazette