Benchmark Senior Living Gets $50 Million Investment for Recapitalization, Development
Wellesley, Mass.-based Benchmark Senior Living has secured a $50 million investment from Och-Ziff Capital Management, according to CoStar.com, for the purpose of recapitalizing existing senior living assets and financing the development of new senior living communities in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Senior Housing Capital Markets Group arranged the joint venture financing. The team included co-heads Richard Swartz and Phil Anderson, along with Jay Wagner and Aaron Rosenzweig.
“The capital arrangement between Benchmark and Och Ziff provided us the opportunity to introduce a relatively new asset class to an investor through a partnership with a best-in-class owner/operator,” said Swartz in a statement.
Lancaster Pollard Completes $66 Million Refunding-Financing for N.J. Hospital System
Columbus, Ohio-based financial services firm Lancaster Pollard recently closed on a $66 million refunding and financing for Kennedy Health System of Voorhees, N.J.
“Lancaster Pollard led an underwriting syndicate that achieved an exceptionally low cost of capital while preserving maximum flexibility for the borrower,” said Ken Gould, senior vice president and regional manager of the firm’s Philadelphia office, in a statement. “The market responded extremely positively to the offering, so much so that we were able to improve pricing as a result of high demand.”
Kennedy Health System took advantage of the strong healthcare market for rated credits to issue tax-exempt, fixed-rate bonds for refunding of Series 1997 A and Series 2001 bonds and financing approximately $20 million in new projects. As a result, the hospital system was able to generate more than 15% in debt service savings.
The health system operates campuses in Cherry Hill, Stratford, and Washington Township, N.J. Planned capital improvements include expansion of the oncology, surgical facilities and laboratory and construction of a C-section room in Washington township; emergency room and operating room renovations plus construction of a same-day surgery unit and pain suite in Cherry Hill; and renovations to Stratford’s emergency room.
Lancaster Pollard Makes Inc. Magazine’s 2012 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies
Lancaster Pollard has been named to Inc. Magazine’s sixth annual Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies for the fourth time since the list’s inception, helped by the firm’s three-year sales growth of 150%. The firm ranked 1,845 overall, compared to last year’s ranking of 2,361, and was ranked 98th among financial service companies.
“Being named to this year’s Inc. 5000 demonstrates our firm’s commitment to profitable growth through tough economic times and reflects our efforts as a company to serve our clients to the fullest,” said CEO Thomas R. Green in a statement. “Our growth demonstrates that debt financing remains available for health care, senior living and housing providers despite the tight credit markets of the past few years through traditional funding routes and government agency programs, such as FHA/HUD and USDA.”
Between 2008 and 2011, Lancaster Pollard has increased its revenue 150%. Despite the economic struggles still present during that time period, the firm’s staff grew by 31% and its payroll increased by 107%.
Lancaster Pollard previously was named to the Inc. 5000 list in 2007, 2008 and 2011.
Oak Grove Capital Originates $14.3 Million of HUD Financing for Ill. Senior Care Community
Oak Grove Capital recently originated $14.3 million in HUD Section 232 LEAN program financing for Eden Supportive Living of Champaign.
The licensed supportive living provider will use the loan for the renovation and construction of the 150-unit affordable assisted living community located in Champaign, Ill., which will serve a physically disabled population.
The construction and permanent financing will fully amortize over a 40-year term following final endorsement and combines a conventional FHA-insured Section 232 loan with a tax-exempt bond structure. The tax-exempt bonds allow for the sale of Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which provided significant equity for the development. Once the construction and renovation project is completed, the bonds will be redeemed using FHA-insured loan proceeds.
“This was a very complex transaction. We used a structure that HUD LEAN staff has approved only a handful of times before,” said vice president Michael Leonard in a statement. “In addition, the bond structure and Low Income Housing Tax Credits weren’t brought into the transaction until after HUD had approved the conventional financing. The close relationship Oak Grove Capital has with LEAN staff was a key to the ultimate approval of this more complicated structure.”
Eden Supportive Living will use the financing to renovate an existing five-story structure and to add three floors above the existing structure. It will also build a new, eight-story building adjacent to the original facility. Once completed, the complex will have a total of 150 one-bedroom units along with extensive common areas.
Companies featured in this article:
Benchmark Senior Living, Lancaster Pollard, Oak Grove Capital
