Exclusive: Estia Health’s buying spree continues
Estia expands with latest aged care acquisition
- Three-home deal: Estia Health has acquired three Victorian aged care homes from Norsan
- 308 new places: The acquisition adds 308 beds and around 520 employees
- Family exit: The Willoughby family is leaving aged care after almost 40 years
- Sector trend: The deal highlights ongoing consolidation across aged care
Estia Health has continued its acquisition spree, settling another transaction just days after its sale to Stonepeak was announced.
The residential aged care operator has purchased three homes in Melbourne’s outer suburbs from Victorian family-owned operator Norsan.
Estia Health’s acquisition includes:
- the 144-bed Chirnside Views Residential Aged Care, 38km east of the CBD (pictured above)
- the 104-bed Park Lane Croydon Residential Aged Care, 31km east of the CBD (pictured below); and
- the 60-bed Willowbrae Residential Aged Care, 36km west of the CBD.
The transaction was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in May and completed on 1 June.
The deal marks the exit of the Willoughby family from residential aged care after almost four decades in the sector.
Norsan was founded in 1988 by Norm and Sandy Willoughby. The homes have since been rebranded as Estia Health Chirnside Park, Estia Health Croydon North and Estia Health Kurunjang.
Estia pushes towards 10,000 beds
For Estia Health, the acquisition further strengthens its Victorian footprint and continues a rapid expansion strategy that has seen the operator grow from 73 homes with approximately 6,720 places in 2023 to 96 homes and more than 9,550 places today.
The Norsan transaction adds a further 308 residential aged care places and approximately 520 employees to the business.
Chief Executive Officer Sean Bilton said the acquisition would enable Estia to support more older Australians while continuing the legacy established by the Willoughby family.
“We are delighted to welcome these homes, along with their residents and dedicated teams, to Estia Health and are proud to continue the legacy established by the Willoughby family over multiple decades,” he said.
The acquisition comes just days after Bain Capital agreed to sell Estia to global infrastructure investor Stonepeak and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Axight in a transaction reportedly worth $2.5 billion.
The transaction also highlights the ongoing consolidation of the residential aged care sector, with some smaller family-owned operators choosing to exit as compliance requirements, capital demands and operating costs across the board continue to rise.
Private operator Roshana Aged Care also revealed this week that it had acquired family-run Hunter Valley Care’s three homes.
