Dexus Seals $51m Deal for Southport Private Hospital

Deploying some of the fully-loaded war chest raised for its healthcare-led asset diversification, property giant Dexus has taken new ground on the Gold Coast.

The ASX-listed landlord has acquired the Southport Private Hospital—formerly Allamanda Private Hospital—from NorthWest's New Zealand Vital Healthcare Property Trust in a $51 million deal.

It is the first transaction for the $1.8 billion Dexus Healthcare Property Fund (DHPF) since its fully subscribed $220 million equity raise in July.

One of the country’s largest office tower owners, Dexus last month posted a full-year statutory net loss after tax of $752.7 million, a dramatic 147 per cent drop on the previous year’s profit, largely due to significant write-downs against its portfolio.

Meanwhile, it has moved to further tap intoon increasing investor appetite for healthcare assets evident from the capital boost to its unlisted, open-ended fund.

Dexus identified healthcare as a key growth sector launching DHPF in 2017. In more recent times, economic uncertainty has driven an influx of capital into the sector, which is deemed a defensive asset class. 

The acquisition of the Southport Private Hospital—a 90-bed mental health and rehabilitation facility operated by Ramsay Health care—had increased DHPF’s exposure to “an attractive and growing sector”, a Dexus statement said.

DHPF fund manager Jemma Maddick said the 20- year lease provided income security backed by Australia’s largest private hospital operator.

“We are pleased to extend our partnership with Ramsay Health Care, through the acquisition of this high-quality hospital, while supporting the delivery of essential health services to the Southport community.

“This investment is in line with the fund’s strategy of securing core, CPI linked, long WALE (weighted average lease expiry), high-quality healthcare assets leased to blue-chip operators in key areas with high demand for healthcare services.

▲ The Southport Private Hospital.

“DHPF continues to attract capital, enabling it to execute on strategic growth opportunities,” she said.

“We are seeing an increasing number of quality investment opportunities presenting themselves and as a leader in the sector we are well capitalised and credentialed to continue to diversify the fund.”

Dexus’s executive general manager of funds management Deborah Coakley added that DHPF’s growth mandate “leverages, and is fundamentally underpinned by, strong sector and demographic trends including an ageing and growing population”.

Australia’s health spending is projected to continue to grow as a percentage of GDP over the next 40 years, she said.

“These trends and recent government modelling underscore the need for private capital to be invested to support our communities.”

Among the fund’s $1.8 billion in assets are the Spring Hill Medical Centre and Herston Car Park within established health precincts in Brisbane that it acquired from Silverstone Developmentd in 2021 for a combined $130.7 million.