Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust
As people age and their medical needs increase, many require the services of clinics, hospitals and other facilities. The medical and aged care sector utilizes a wide range of property types, and this gives choice and diversification to investors who like property.
An established investor in healthcare properties is the Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust. This is an unlisted fund with $423 million in capital under management and 20 healthcare properties in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
The fund owns the land and bricks and mortar of hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes, day surgeries, consulting rooms, rehabilitation units, and radiology and pathology centres.
Properties in its portfolio include the Brunswick Private Hospital in Melbourne, Constitution Hill Aged Care in Sydney, Peninsula Private Hospital in Melbourne, RPAH Medical Centre in Sydney, Ipswich Medical Centre and Day Surgery near Brisbane, Wakefield Private Hospital and Wakefield Medical Clinic in Adelaide, and Illawarra Private Hospital in Wollongong.
Its major tenants are: Ramsay Health, Sonic Health, Vision Group, Calvary Health, and Healthscope.
The Fund has performed well. Its one year performance to August 2011 is 7.3 per cent. Its five year performance to August 2011 is 8.7 per cent.
Lonsec research rates the Fund as Highly Recommended.
Its ethical investment credentials are also sound. Australian Unity retrofitted the Prince Alfred Medical Centre in Sydney between 2008-2010. The building's energy rating went from zero to four stars under the National Australia Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), and its water rating moved from one star to 2.5 stars.
Australian Unity's environmental credentials increased further with the acquisition of Investa Funds Management, a property manager that specializes in retrofitting commercial properties to make them energy efficient and sustainable.
From a social perspective, the Fund has centres in a variety of geographic locations, including regional areas such as Wollongong in NSW and Ipswich in Qld. It has strong community relations and good corporate governance.