Singapore’s Parkway Life REIT Buying 11 French Nursing Homes for $120M

Parkway Life REIT has agreed to acquire 11 nursing homes in France for €111.2 million ($120.4 million), marking the Singapore-listed trust’s maiden investment in Europe.

Healthcare-focused PLife REIT is buying the properties from operator DomusVi Group and will lease them back to the French company for 12 years upon completion of the deal, the trust’s manager said Tuesday in a release. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, after which PLife REIT’s portfolio will grow to 75 properties with a total value of S$2.4 billion ($1.8 billion).

After establishing a presence in Singapore and Japan, PLife REIT is extending into a new market with an ageing population and a mature aged care sector, said CEO Yong Yean Chau.

“This will allow PLife REIT to optimise its investment exposure and further diversify the geographical risks within its portfolio, thereby enhancing risk-adjusted returns for its unitholders,” Yong said.

Aged Care Giant

Headquartered in suburban Paris, DomusVi is the third-largest aged care operator in Europe and runs 600 nursing and assisted-living homes.

The 11 acquired properties are in the French regions of Bourgogne Franche-Comte, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Grand Est, Normandie and Auvergne Rhone-Alpes, spanning 42,631 square metres (458,876 square feet) of net lettable floor area and 850 nursing beds.

“We are pleased to partner with Parkway Life REIT,” said DomusVi CEO Sylvain Rabuel. “This transaction marks the start of our win-win collaboration that underscores our shared commitment to long-term growth and we look forward to exploring new opportunities together in the European market.”

PLife REIT plans to fully finance the acquisition through a private placement in which it aims to raise S$180 million in equity, including S$159.9 million for the consideration and S$20.1 million for related fees and expenses.

Growing Internationally

PLife REIT’s first European foray follows the trust’s acquisition of an Osaka nursing home from developer FDS for JPY 2.4 billion ($16 million) in a deal announced in July.

The purchase of the 138-bed Hibisu Higashi Sumiyoshi brought the REIT’s Japan portfolio to 60 properties totalling S$676.8 million in value, according to the manager. The trust also owns the Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles and Parkway East private hospitals in Singapore.

PLife REIT’s largest unitholder is Kuala Lumpur-based IHH Healthcare, whose key investors include Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah and Japan’s Mitsui & Co.