Belgian REIT Cofinimmo buys major Spanish healthcare portfolio.

Cofinimmo (Euronext Brussels: COFB), a leading Belgian healthcare REIT which entered the Spanish market in 2019 has just confirmed the acquisition of a portfolio of 18 care homes from Batipart, the family office of the Ruggieri family. Cushman & Wakefield has advised Cofinimmo on the acquisition which reached a value of approximately €150 million reflecting a gross rental yield of above 5%.

Spain’s demographic trends continue to attract core capital for the care home segment, with c. 20% of Spaniards being aged 65 and above and with an additional 6% being over than 80 years of age. The Southern European nation is poised for further growth in the segment as its population is expected to age at a significantly faster pace than in Belgium, France and many other European countries.

According to Cofinimmo’s CEO, Jean-Pierre Hanin, this deal represents a «big step forward in Spain» and has described it as an important step in the execution of Cofinimmo’s corporate strategy: to build and to consolidate a leadership position in European healthcare real estate.

The portfolio in question, which has a GLA of c. 108,000sqm is fully leased to French care home giant DomusVi and amounts to over 2,700 beds in well maintained premises. The nursing and care homes are situated across some of the most attractive and wealthiest Spanish regions including Madrid, Valencia, Mallorca & Barcelona.

The tenant, DomusVi, is one of the leaders in hospitality and services for self-sufficient or dependent senior citizens. The group is present in all segments of the sector, including medical nursing homes, non-medical nursing homes, residential services and home-care services. With more than 400 nursing homes and senior residential homes and 60 home-care agencies, DomusVi provides a comprehensive range of quality services to its 72,000 customers in Europe and Latin America .

As published by the purchaser, the lease agreements related to the 11 assets under freehold (amounting to approx. 105 million EUR) will be accounted for as operating leases with a WALT of 21 years. For each of them, a triple net lease has been concluded and rents will be indexed annually according to the local consumer price index.

The portfolio includes 7 assets under leasehold or surface rights (amounting to approx. 45 million EUR) which will be accounted for as finance leases. During the remaining duration of the contracts (which amounts to 25 years on average), the leases will be indexed annually according to the local consumer price index.