Recession Resistant Assisted Living? The Audience Speaks
When the seniors housing industry emerged from the Great Recession, it quickly became apparent that it performed well during that economic downturn, especially when compared against other “real estate” asset classes, and especially the assisted living sub-sector. It became known as “recession resistant,” something that made a lot of investors happy. Now that we have officially entered into the first recession since the Great Recession, we thought it was a good time to talk with industry leaders and get their take on whether assisted living would once again be recession resistant, even though it would be a very different kind of recession. Last week we hosted... Read More »
Ziegler Arranges Another Bank Bond Financing
We know that the lending market has slowed considerably, and has been perhaps the main reason for M&A coming to a crawl, but just a week after arranging a bank bond refinance for a CCRC client, Ziegler has arranged another one for a CCRC in Texas, resulting in a total of more than $150 million in proceeds across the two transactions. That’s an impressive sum these days. Most recently, Ziegler refinanced Westminster, a not-for-profit entrance-fee CCRC in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1972, Westminster has grown over the years to include 327 independent living units, 22 assisted living units, 30 memory care units and 55 skilled nursing beds on a 9.3-acre campus. Life Care Services (LCS) has... Read More »
Can COVID-19 Kill The CCRC Market?
We are fond of bringing up the fact that far too many people have put the CCRC (LPC) market prematurely in its grave. It especially happens when there is a recession, like 10 years ago, and now. We are hearing rumblings again even as suburban housing prices are rising as city dwellers are heading for the COVID-free hills. We are not even four full months into this pandemic, and a much shorter time since the economy has officially been declared to be in a recession, so there are still far too many unknowns as to what may happen. But CCRCs entered this recession in probably the strongest financial position they have been in since 2007. As a result, they may weather the storm better... Read More »
New Nursing Home Commission
Watch out. When the government creates a new commission on quality in nursing facilities, it can only mean higher costs, but without increased reimbursement. The members of the new Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes was named last week, and the provider side of the business was not very well represented, especially on the for-profit side. While Neil Pruitt, CEO of Georgia-based PruittHealth, was named to the commission, no other CEO of a for-profit company was named. The closest was the SVP of Clinical Operations & Innovations of Kentucky-based Signature Healthcare. Of the 25 members, 11 were from academic institutions, government... Read More »
Recent Senior Care Deals, Week Ending June 19, 2020
Transaction volume may be light these days, but deals are still getting done. Check out our recent senior care M&A deals! Long-Term Care AcquirerTargetPrice Tryko PartnersHopkins Manor$14.5 million Tryko PartnersHarlee Manor/Springfield CommonsN/A Elevation Financial GroupKennington Pointe$26.5 million Cadence Living/Dylan InvestmentsTanner... Read More »
Ventas Slashes Dividend
In an expected development, Ventas slashed its dividend today. What was unexpected was the size of the cut. The July dividend was reduced from the previous per-share amount of $0.7925 to $0.45 per share, a drop of 43%. This will be saving Ventas $130 million of cash each quarter, or $520 million a year if they keep it at this lower level. Management stated a few months ago that if they lowered the second quarter dividend they would revisit it as operations improved. Don’t expect a large increase any time soon. Management indicated that its Seniors Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP) was showing positive momentum with move-ins and leads improving, but that... Read More »
Ignite Medical Resorts Takes Over Oklahoma SNF
Ignite Medical Resorts formally took over operations of a short-term rehab/skilled nursing facility in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Owned by Sabra Health Care REIT since 2014, this facility was previously operated by Vision Health, which chose to exit the industry along with its two other Oklahoma locations in Norman and Oklahoma City (also taken over by Ignite). Originally built in 1989, it was significantly renovated to become one of the more high-end, transitional care facilities in the market. All of the rooms are private and fitted with ensuite bathrooms, HDTVs and recliners. Amenities are also plentiful and range from full-service restaurant dining to a coffee shop to an on-site... Read More »
Tryko Partners Buys Two SNFs
With more than 4,500 skilled nursing and assisted living beds under management, plus another 2,000 independent living units, Tryko Partners, and its operating affiliate Marquis Health Services, is certainly becoming a senior care powerhouse in the northeast and mid-Atlantic areas. And they keep on adding to their portfolio, even during the pandemic. Most recently, they purchased a 173-bed facility on six acres in Springfield, Pennsylvania called Harlee Manor and Springfield Commons. The campus is located 12 miles west of downtown Philadelphia, and joins three other Tryko-owned facilities in the greater Philadelphia market. There are 100 skilled beds and... Read More »
Seniors Housing Occupancy Slides Further, But Slower
Well, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone, but occupancy levels for stabilized independent living and assisted living continued their drop in the month of May, according to NIC MAP. Across the country’s 31 largest metropolitan areas, assisted living properties first fell by 170 basis points from 87.8% in March (the first full month of the COVID-19 pandemic) to 86.1% in April. The sector occupancy fell by a lesser degree in May, by 90 basis points to 85.2%. So, in total, that is a 360-basis point drop for assisted living since the pandemic began. The independent living sector has so far fared better than assisted living, but it also has the benefit of being in a stronger position going... Read More »
“Benevolent Incarceration” in Assisted Living
Some assisted living residents are getting restless. Why should they be any different from the rest of us? The Wall Street Journal recently published an opinion piece by a 94-year old resident of an assisted living community in New Jersey, where he wrote that he had mixed feelings about his “benevolent incarceration” during this pandemic. While he understands that the current restrictions are to keep him and the other residents safe, he raises some valid questions. At his community, no residents have tested positive for COVID-19, while three staff members have already recovered from it. Yet, the residents still can’t eat in the dining room, all meals are delivered to the apartments where... Read More »Schedule a demo
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