First Reit buys Lentor nursing home

FIRST Real Estate Investment Trust (First Reit) has agreed to acquire a nursing home at 51 Lentor Avenue.

The price was not revealed in its statement released yesterday but is understood to be around $12 million.

The 148-bed nursing home will be leased back to its current owner, Sphere Investment.

The leasehold property, with a gross floor area of about 3,000 square metres, is on about 2,500 sq m of land.

First Reit, which is part of Indonesia’s Lippo Group, acquired three properties here for a total of $38.2 million earlier this year. It was listed on the Singapore Exchange in December 2006.

Ronnie Tan, chief executive of First Reit manager Bowsprit Capital Corporation, said there are no immediate plans to enhance the latest property, though there is some potential to maximise unused plot ratio.

First Reit will continue to look for opportunities in Singapore and Asia, he said. ‘We have to continue to grow.’ Dr Tan expects to announce more acquisitions in the current second quarter of the year.

In January, he said First Reit plans to double the size of its portfolio to $500 million within three years and raise it to $1 billion within five years.

At the time of listing, the Reit comprised three healthcare properties and a hotel in Indonesia worth a total of $257 million.

Source : Business Times - 8 May 2007