US-based healthcare real estate investor CareTrust REIT has announced a £1.1 billion agreement with LNT Care Developments to acquire 45 newly developed care homes across the UK.
The firm said in a statement that all homes will be operated by subsidiaries of Crystal Care, LNT's care home operating company, and will operate under lease arrangements designed to support occupancy growth as new services establish themselves, before moving into a long-term operating structure.
It added the transaction will be completed in stages, with the first phase having already closed and comprising 24 homes built within the past two years. The remaining 21 homes are currently under development and are expected to be acquired on a rolling basis throughout 2027, subject to completion and regulatory approvals.
The CareTrust statement said LNT has developed more than 250 care homes to date and said it is currently delivering close to 30 new homes a year.
The deal marks the first large investment by a US REIT in the UK market following the conclusion of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe into Welltower’s takeover of more than 600 homes.
CareTrust chief investment officer James Callister said the deal “materially improves the age, quality and configuration of our overall UK care home portfolio."
LNT founder Lawrence Tomlinson said the “transaction was never simply about raising capital”.
"We were keen to carefully choose a strategic partner who could help us deliver on our vision of hundreds of desperately needed new care homes across the United Kingdom,” he added.
CareTrust chief executive Dave Sedgwick described LNT as "one of one" in the UK market and said the company hoped to support the developer as it seeks to deliver "hundreds more homes over the next decade and beyond".
The company said the agreement also includes an option for CareTrust to acquire the LNT platform in the future as the two organisations explore further opportunities to work together.
