Growthpoint Healthcare Reit still eyes the JSE

The pandemic may have stalled its plans to achieve an asset value of R10bn, but a listing is on track

Investors may soon be able to share in the spoils of the first South Africa-based real estate stock that focuses exclusively on hospitals, clinics, laboratories, biotech manufacturing and warehouse facilities.

Though health-care real estate investment trusts (Reits) may be unfamiliar territory for JSE investors, it’s a well-established asset class in the US and the UK.

Late last year, London-listed Primary Health Properties brought its R66bn portfolio to the JSE, but the UK-focused healthcare Reit is highly illiquid as it hasn’t issued new shares to local investors.

Sector heavyweight Growthpoint Properties launched a health-care fund in May 2018 as an unlisted Reit. At the time, Growthpoint Healthcare Reit, as it is known, had assets worth about R2bn. Back then, the idea was to list the Reit within seven years or once it reached an asset value of R10bn, whichever came first. Six years on, the portfolio is worth just less than R4bn.

Linda Sigaba, the fund manager who runs the health-care Reit, tells the FM: “We lost two years due to the pandemic, so we didn’t grow as fast as we had hoped.”

But the Reit is back on its expansion trail. This month, it acquired the Johannesburg Eye Hospital in Northcliff for R106.4m, bringing its tally of properties to nine, worth R3.8bn. The facility is known as one of the best eye hospitals in Africa and specialises in eye surgery and laser eye procedures. It is licensed for 20 beds and 16 recliners. The acquisition includes the 37bed Medwedge stepdown facility.

Other flagship properties include the R470m Cintocare Hospital, recently built in Pretoria. It specialises in head, neck, spinal, neuro and vascular surgery.

The Reit also owns three Busamed hospitals one in Paardevlei in Somerset