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RETIREMENT outfit BGA Capital has announced plans to acquire a portfolio of up to 10 retirement villages, in preparation for an initial public offering.
BGA has appointed Colliers International to assist in aggregating a portfolio of eight to 10 assets across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
"We are looking for retirement village owners with smaller portfolios of one to five villages to join BGA Capital in forming a scalable, geographically diverse portfolio of quality assets a combination of mature and greenfield villages," Colliers International director Brendan Wenke says.
"We have had a strong initial response from retirement village operators in joining an ASX-listed entity which will be capitalised at between $300 million and $350 million.
"This opportunity will suit operators with smaller portfolios who are looking to grow or identify an exit strategy that will allow them to participate in a larger business that provides them with scale."
BGA directors have undertaken initial negotiations for approximately $100 million worth of villages and village sites in NSW, but are looking to engage an established retirement village operator before closing the deals.
Wenke says the IPO, which followed demographic studies undertaken on the retirement village sector and a review of the operating models of retirement villages around Australia, would be backed by a strong management team.
"This IPO will fund both the acquisition of at least 50 per cent interests in the portfolio villages and working capital for ongoing development activities and further acquisitions," he says.
"The aim is to maintain a high level of quality and consistency across the BGA portfolio, and a mixture of mature, income-producing villages and greenfields sites with development approval in place."
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