Hemfosa becomes long-term sole owner of healthcare properties at Gardermoen with green loan financing from Swedbank
Hemfosa has acquired Aspelin Ramm’s ownership stake of 35 percent in Gardermoen Campus Utvikling AS (GCU), a joint venture that has built a specialist hospital and a local medical center in the center of excellence for health services and medical care being established near Gardermoen Airport in Norway. Further development of the area will continue in cooperation with Aspelin Ramm as part of the existing joint venture structure. In connection with the transaction, Hemfosa has secured long-term financing of the hospital and the local medical center with a green loan of SEK 1.5 billion from Swedbank.
On February 2, 2017, Hemfosa signed an agreement for the acquisition of Aspelin Ramm’s 35 percent shareholding in GCU upon completion of the properties. GCU owns two recently completed properties – a specialist hospital that is fully leased to Landsforeningen for Hjerte og Lungesyke (LHL, Norwegian Heart and Lung Association) with a 25-year lease and a local medical center, which is also fully leased to the Municipality of Ullensaker with a 30-year lease, in addition to a number of other tenants in the health and personal care sector. The acquisition was finalized on March 22, 2018. The purchase consideration for the shares amounts to MNOK 330.
“The construction work proceeded entirely according to plan and we are very pleased that Hemfosa will now be the long-term owner of these modern health and personal care properties, which are both fully leased. We look forward to a close collaboration with LHL, the Municipality of Ullensaker and the other tenants in the development of the properties and this exciting center of excellence. This is an expansive area in a prime location and we see that there is good potential for more development projects at Gardermoen Campus together with Aspelin Ramm moving forward,” comments Jens Engwall, CEO of Hemfosa.
Properties that comply with high demands for sustainability
Our ambition since its inception has been to create one of the most climate and energy-friendly hospitals in Norway. The hospital includes a large number of energy-efficiency measures and was built with support from the state organization Enova, which is responsible for promoting environmentally-friendly production and energy consumption. It also received the highest environmental classification in Norway (energimerke A). The hospital also has an energy plant that provides heating and cooling to the properties, and is adapted to provide any future buildings with energy
A hub for health solutions of the future
Gardermoen Campus’s aim is that the area can become a hub for the development of future healthcare and medical solutions with innovative activities in research, development, therapy and rehabilitation. There are many innovation opportunities in the Norwegian healthcare sector. By assembling different players in the health sector at a single location, our aim is to create an arena for cooperation and innovation.
“First of all, I would like to thank our fantastic business partners LHL, the Municipality of Ullensaker at not least Aspelin Ramm, which have been an inspiring team to work with. Moving forward, we will create more opportunities for the healthcare sector of the future, with greater demands for user-friendly solutions and modern technology, to establish operations in this innovative and skills-intensive area at Gardermoen,” says Simon Venemyr Ottersland, COO Hemfosa Norway.
Hemfosa signs green bank loan
To finance the healthcare properties at Gardermoen, Hemfosa has signed a green loan from Swedbank for SEK 1.5 billion. In addition to a slightly lower interest rate, a green bank loan is evidence that an investment fulfils high demands for sustainability. Swedbank issues green bank loans in order for the capital to be used to finance sustainable investments in properties and energy sources that reduce carbon emissions in society.
“As an owner and manager of mainly community service properties, it feels particularly important to contribute toward a society that is sustainable in the long term. Financing healthcare properties with a green loan from Swedbank is perfectly in tune with our ambition to include sustainability in all of our operations. This transaction will create value in both the short and long term for our tenants and owners,” says Jens Engwall, CEO of Hemfosa.
For further information, please contact:
Jens Engwall, CEO, jens.engwall@hemfosa.se, mobile +46 70 690 65 50, office +46 8 448 04 80
Simon Venemyr Ottersland, COO Norway, simon.ottersland@hemfosa.no, mobile + 47 917 95 216
About Hemfosa Fastigheter
Hemfosa is a Swedish property company focused on community service properties in the Nordic region, with its largest tenants being the Swedish state and municipalities. This provides stable cash flows and a healthy yield. In order to create value, Hemfosa also aims to actively participate in the transaction market. As per December 31, 2017, Hemfosa owned properties with a total property value of approximately SEK 41.1 billion, including the company’s share of the property value in joint ventures. Hemfosa’s common share has been listed since March 2014 and its preference share since December 2014, both on Nasdaq Stockholm. Read more at www.hemfosa.se