Many of you read in our online posts that the President of Retirement Unlimited Inc. (RUI), Doris-Ellie Sullivan, is out and that a lot of other changes have transpired there. But perhaps the biggest story is how Welltower and its RUI relationship went off course.
Brandywine Living and Welltower sold the Brandywine management business to RUI in a transaction that closed late in 2023. Welltower owned the assets so was in the driver’s seat on what would happen in the future. Welltower had a previous relationship with the owner of RUI, Bill Fralen, who had owned a lot of SNFs but was growing his seniors housing business through RUI. It seemed like a good financial fit.
But something went terribly wrong, mostly a very different management style between Ms. Sullivan and the founder of Brandywine, Brenda Bacon. Many of the senior staff members and EDs have left, and Welltower is trying to line up new operators for the properties. Rumor has it that Monarch Communities (with just six current properties) may be taking over the lion’s share in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania markets, Cogir for Virgina and QSL for Florida (not Brandywine communities), but nothing is confirmed. We may hear more about this in the third quarter earnings call, or not. To us, however, it is quite embarrassing for Welltower that this would break down so quickly, in less than a year. They talk a lot about having “best in class” operators, but not this time, and maybe were a little lax on the due diligence. Everyone says they have best in class everything, but it is not always the case.
