Aust Unity buys up hospitals

Australian Unity is to buy another four private hospitals from the Alpha Healthcare Group to add to its Healthcare Property Trust.

Australian Unity is to buy another four private hospitals from the Alpha Healthcare Group to add to its Healthcare Property Trust.

The $30 million of acquisitions, all in New South Wales, gives the fund $105 million of assets. As part of the deal, Australian Unity has been given first refusal to buy Alpha’s new Westmead Private Hospital in Sydney when it is completed in October this year.

The Healthcare Property Trust is also to be made available to retail investors from September this year, according to Australian Unity general manager financial services Craig Dunstan.

“The Healthcare Trust is an unique investment vehicle providing exposure to a previously neglected property investment sector,” he says.

“The indicative yield for the current financial year is in excess of 10 per cent with an estimated 15 per cent of the distribution being tax-free or tax-deferred.”

A with previous hospital purchases, Australian Unity will lease the facilities back to Alpha for a period of 15 years. The other hospitals in the trust, bought from Benchmark last year, are also leased back to that operator.

Dunstan says the latest purchase will enable the trust to diversify its property portfolio and establish a relationship with another high-quality private healthcare operator. Alpha is a listed company operating nine hospitals in New South Wales. The acquisition has also enabled the trust to spread its assets in a better geographical mix, with about 30 per cent each in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.