Asset manager April Group has purchased the Hunters Hill Private Hospital from Australian Unity’s Healthcare Property Trust for $28 million. The deal for the property at 9 Mount Street reflects a 5.4 percent net passing yield and concludes a nearly two-year sales process that began when Australian Unity listed the asset in February 2023.
The hospital is located approximately nine kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD in the suburb of Hunters Hill.
Hospital Details and Tenant
Originally developed in 1922 and extensively refurbished in 2010, the three-level facility features:
- 39 wards with 40 beds (15 inpatient surgical and 25 rehabilitation)
- Nine day chairs
- Four operating theatres
- Hydrotherapy pool and gym
- Commercial kitchen
- 30 car parking spaces
The property spans 3,648 square meters with three street frontages, making it one of the largest non-heritage landholdings in Hunters Hill.
Ramsay Healthcare occupies the facility on a lease expiring in 2035, with options to extend until 2050. The tenant pays over $2 million annually in rent.
Strategic Value
April Group Capital Head Jim Robertshaw stated: “This acquisition was in response to strong investor demand, focused on a prime landholding with a secure income profile.”
The company analysed local healthcare demand before proceeding with the purchase, noting Hunters Hill’s aging demographic. In 2022-23, deaths outstripped births by 113 in the suburb, the fourth-highest such figure in Sydney.
Market Context
The transaction occurs as the private hospital sector faces increasing wage costs, inflation affecting supplies, and constrained insurance revenues. Healthscope, Australia’s second-largest hospital operator, has recently put itself up for sale and is looking to streamline its hospital portfolio due to rising medical costs.
Australian Unity’s Healthcare Property Trust sold the property as part of its strategy to “selectively divest properties with proceeds being used to reduce debt initially before deployment,” according to AU general manager, Healthcare Property, Chris Smith.
Chris Veitch and Shirley Fan of Stanton Hillier Parker brokered the deal. Australian Unity had previously acquired the property for $6.95 million in 2000, and it was valued at $31.5 million when listed two years ago.
April Group previously purchased Sydney CBD’s Lisgar House from Brookfield for $32.5 million approximately three years ago.
Published 16-April-2025