The sale of Wagga Wagga village The Grange to BaptistCare highlights a strong market for acquisitions, according to industry insiders.
Shane Nicholson (pictured above), Director of Health, Aged Care & Retirement at Commercial Collective, who brokered the Grange deal, said that he had sent out around 90 confidentiality agreements on the property, received back 20, and received five offers; all up, the campaign took about eight weeks.
“There was a strong level of interest… I think the buyer was a natural fit in BaptistCare,” he told The Weekly SOURCE.
According to Shane, there are a number of factors buoying the market at the moment, including cheap money and willingness on the part of operators to sell.
“There are a number of operators, particularly private operators, single or double asset owned operators, that would like to get out – the extra requirements of residents might be overwhelming for them or too challenging for them, and they think that there might be someone that’s better to handle those requirements than themselves,” he said.
David Bruce-Clarke (pictured right), National Director – Alternative Investments Valuation and Advisory Services at Jones Lang LaSalle, said that a strong residential market in 2021 plus good discount rates are contributing to a great environment for sales.
“The opportunity to invest in the sector is probably as good as it has been over the last five years. It’s difficult to determine who’s going to be buying and selling the space, but for those looking to sell, now is a good time to do that, and for developers there’s opportunity to get stock out of the ground and get it sold,” he said.
Independent specialist Russell Allison (pictured right), who last year had no difficulty in selling villages and aged care facilities, said he had an “exceptionally good” 2021, but has sounded a note of caution over Omicron.
“We’re being told that it’s not as severe as the other variants, but it has spread very rapidly. I’m not aware of what the position is in villages at the moment and what effect that could have on sales of villages,” he said.
Despite Omicron, however, Russell does believe there is interest in the market.
“If there is a good quality village available, there are buyers interested in acquiring, and some in acquiring a portfolio of villages.
“I’m not saying the market is going through the roof – all I’m saying is that last year when I was engaged to sell a retirement village and an aged care facility, I had good response from quality aged care providers and quality retirement village operators,” he said.
