Civitas acquires 15 Welsh supported living facilities

Care-based housing and healthcare developer Civitas Social Housing has completed the acquisition of 15 supported living and care facilities in south Wales, it announced on Tuesday, for a total of £10.9m excluding purchase costs.

The FTSE 250 real estate investment trust said the portfolio provided 51 beds and long-term support for individuals with learning disabilities and mental health care needs, along with dedicated facilities to develop and enhance independent living skills, such as cooking, numeracy and literacy.

It said the properties were subject to 25-year leases with Auckland Home Solutions, with rents adjusted annually in line with the consumer price index over the full-term, subject to a lower limit of inflation of 0% per annum and a maximum indexation of 4% per annum.

Auckland is already a counterparty to existing leases within the Civitas portfolio.

The properties would be immediately income generating, with a net initial yield in line with the board’s expectations.

Civitas said the transaction represented the first to be financed with the proceeds from the recently-secured debt facility with M&G.

It said it was focussing on the acquisition of properties that had been significantly adapted or purpose-built for the delivery of mid-to-higher acuity care, adding that it had a “significant pipeline” of similar opportunities, which were progressing well.

“We are delighted to complete this acquisition using proceeds from our new debt facility and leveraging our unique relationships within the sector to secure the purchase of these state-of-the-art care facilities,” said Paul Bridge, chief executive officer of social housing at Civitas Investment Management.

“These have been adapted on a bespoke basis to enable individual vulnerable adults to live in a safe and secure home whilst remaining part of their community.

“The acquisition will extend the company's geographic diversity whilst meeting the ongoing key strategic objective of delivering sustainable returns to shareholders and providing measurable social impact to society.”

At 0819 BST, shares in Civitas Social Housing were flat at 113.4p.