GFH acquires $200m medical offices portfolio in the US

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

GFH Financial Group has acquired a portfolio of medical offices in the US worth around $200 million as part of its strategy to build a portfolio of stabilised assets driven by solid long term fundamentals and operating growth.

Spread across seven states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Utah, Wisconsin, Ohio and Texas –the medical offices portfolio consists of 11 assets and 400,000 square feet of space.

The Sharia-compliant deal brings the value of the GFH’s group’s US healthcare portfolio to over $400 million. Medical Offices refers to facilities leased to outpatient medical and medical-related services. These include different specialisations of medicine (including dermatology, paediatrics and other various specializations) as well as labs and ancillary medical services.

The portfolio comprises assets that are leased to some of the largest names in US healthcare, including Cleveland Clinic, Texas A&M Health Science Centre, Novant Health, Spartanbrug Regional Healthcare System, Texas Health Resources and Baylor Scott & White Health.

The assets cover a range of specialist care sectors and are positioned on hospital campuses or near hospitals with a solid customer base across the Southeast, Midwest and Southwest.

The portfolio with a WAULT of near 10 years comprises both long term and short term leases, allowing it to benefit from long term stability as well potential upside. “The pandemic has underlined a need for more outpatient services and continued demand for healthcare services. As a result, we are seeing strong investor sentiment in the medical offices sector.

This trend is particularly true in the US, where healthcare spending comprises around 18% of GDP, compared to around 10% for most other developed countries,” said Nael Mustafa, Co-Chief Investment Officer – Real Estate at GFH. Nael added: “GFH’s focus on defensive sectors and recession-proof investments, such as healthcare, is known for delivering both value and returns for shareholders.

We are confident that our US medical offices portfolio will help our partners to capitalise on the surging demand for healthcare in the US in the coming decades.”