Dexus’ North Shore Health Hub building at St Leonards, Sydney has reached practical completion.

Dexus, HomeCo boost healthcare property assets

Carolyn Cummins and Emma Koehn|Apr 15, 2021

Dexus and property group HomeCo have extended their reach with new assets and a $1 billion equity raise into the fast-growing healthcare and wellness sector.

The David Di Pilla-backed HomeCo has bolstered its planned $1 billion equity raising for the HealthCo with industry heavyweights including former Ramsay Health Care Australia boss Danny Sims who join an advisory board to advise the business on strategy for its planned healthcare investment vehicles.

HealthCo will use the cash raised to target assets such as private hospitals, primary care, child care, aged care, and life sciences in combined listed and unlisted vehicles. It will be established with $350 million in proposed seed assets currently owned by HomeCo and there is an additional $450 million in assets under due diligence.

The $1 billion raise target is double what HomeCo had flagged back in February when it first told investors of plans to expand its reach beyond retail assets into the health sector.

“HealthCo is uniquely positioned to offer investors the potential to scale up exposure to this growth sector in a carefully constructed, well managed, diversified portfolio of assets,” HomeCo’s group head of capital partnerships Heechung Sung said.

Mr Sims will join other health industry veterans including former dean of University of Sydney Medical school Professor Bruce Robinson and chairman of the Centenary Institute for Medical Research Joseph Carrozzi to advise on strategy.

For Dexus, the North Shore Health Hub in St Leonards, on Sydney’s north has reached practical completion, providing a healthcare facility integrated into the $1 billion North Shore Hospital precinct.

Developed by Dexus, owned by Dexus Healthcare Property Fund (DHPF) and built by Roberts Co, the North Shore Health Hub is a state-of-the-art healthcare facility across 16,000 square metres, providing health and medical services to the community.

Deborah Coakley, executive general manager, funds management, said the completion of the North Shore Health Hub adds a new, first-class asset to DHPF’s portfolio.

“Assets of this quality and scale ensure the fund continues to be relevant and attractive to both domestic and international investors,” Ms Coakley said.

The facility is located in the North Shore Hospital precinct and connects to Ramsay Health Care’s day surgery at the North Shore Private Hospital via a bridge link, facilitating the integration of healthcare services across the two facilities.

Michael Lochtenberg, director – leasing & development at Colliers is working on the project and has signed up a number of healthcare operators, including Ramsay Health Care, GenesisCare, North Shore Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology and Rockwell GP.