Barwood Capital, the Northampton-based UK regional real-estate development and investment specialist, has acquired five well located care home sites which are intended to deliver more than £55 million GDV and 347 beds for its 2017 Regional Property Growth Fund in partnership with development manager Perseus Land & Developments (“Perseus”).
The acquisitions follow Barwood Capital’s expansion into this growing area of the property market and the announcement in September 2018 that Barwood Capital had agreed a partnership with Perseus to fund the acquisition of sites for its 2017 Regional Property Growth, which had its final close in February 2018.
The five sites acquired are located in the London Borough of Sutton, Surrey, East and West Sussex and eastern Scotland and are anticipated to deliver between 64 to 77 beds each. Barwood Capital and Perseus are in detailed discussions for pre-lets on three of these sites with sales already agreed, subject to planning, on the other two to care home operators.
Andrew Barlow, investment director, Barwood Capital said: “Our exciting partnership with Perseus has seen the acquisition of these five key sites. We have invested where we believe planning can be secured for operators to build high quality care homes to meet the needs of elderly residents. We expect the care home and senior living sector will continue to expand as the market matures and the UK’s older population grows over the coming decades. Perseus’ extensive experience means that we have been able to identify those opportunities where we can invest in local communities while providing attractive investor returns.”
Duncan Ford, managing director, Perseus added: “We are delighted to have secured these carefully selected sites across the country with Barwood Capital. The partnership with Barwood Capital has allowed us to start and grow an exciting platform to enable and deliver much needed accommodation in all its forms for a wide network of operators across the sector. We look forward to securing more sites for Barwood Capital’s latest Growth Fund IV and into the future”.
The news follows the recent announcement that Barwood Capital has raised £50 million for its fifth commercial property fund, the Barwood Regional Property Growth Fund IV, for which it continues to seek alternatives such as care home opportunities, industrial developments and large industrial estates, as well as selective offices requiring between £5 million to £10 million of equity with refurbishment and development opportunities.
Hugh Elrington, managing director, Barwood Capital said: “The care home sector is a strong market that we identified for our 2017 Regional Property Growth Fund. Importantly it also aligns with our strategy to invest in areas of strong demographics and those which adhere to our corporate and social values. As with the UK’s regional logistics market, we believe that the care home and older living sector will see further growth due to ongoing and forecast demand. We will continue to look for opportunities in this space for our new Growth Fund IV.”