Secure Income REIT sells eight private hospitals in £347m deal

Real estate investment company Secure Income REIT has sold eight of its 19 private hospitals in a £347m deal.

The hospitals have been bought by US healthcare property investor, Medical Properties Trust, and will continue to be operated by Ramsay Health Care Limited. 

Unconditional contracts for the sale of the eight subsidiary companies that hold the properties have been exchanged and completion is scheduled for 16 August 2019.

The eight hospitals sold are Ashtead, Berkshire Independent, Euxton Hall, Mount Stuart, North Downs, Renacres, Rowley and Winfield.

‘We believe that shareholders are best served by our active approach to portfolio management, recycling capital where it is prudent and advantageous to do so,’ said Martin Moore, chairman of Secure Income. ‘This attractive offer, which represents a 19% premium above the December 2018 valuation, allows shareholders to realise some upside while still retaining a core holding of 11 high quality acute hospitals, worth £643m at their 31 December 2018 valuations, let to Ramsay Health Care Limited, one of the world’s largest private healthcare companies.’

‘We remain alert to opportunities to redeploy the capital raised when appropriate and, in the meantime, will top up shareholders’ income returns to the pre-transaction levels,’ Moore continued.