Bethesda to take over Mount Private Hospital lease

HMC Capital's HealthCo Healthcare and Wellness REIT (ASX:HCW) has finalised an agreement to surrender Healthscope’s lease for the Mount Private Hospital to Western Australian not-for-profit operator Bethesda Health Care.

The agreement, which has been formally guaranteed by the Western Australian state government, was reached alongside Healthscope’s unlisted healthcare fund and receiver McGrath Nicol.

Bethesda is scheduled to commence its new long-term lease in the first quarter of financial year 2027.

This transition follows previously announced lease agreements for 10 other Healthscope hospitals, which were allocated on a state-by-state basis to Healthe Care in Victoria, Acurio Health in New South Wales, and KnG Healthcare in Queensland.

For the remaining 27 Healthscope facilities, alternative operators have been granted a period of due diligence. Transaction documentation is currently being progressed to ensure an orderly transition and continuity of hospital services.

HealthCo also confirmed it has not received any formal proposals, commercial terms, or requests for lease assignments regarding a previously proposed "PurposeCo" model, which aimed to transition Healthscope into a single not-for-profit entity without breaking up the company.

HMC Capital Managing Director of Real Estate, Sid Sharma, stated that the state-guaranteed agreement for the Mount Private Hospital marks an important step towards resolving the Healthscope situation.

He added that the company remains focused on positioning the platform for renewed growth and restoring normalised distribution settings for its unitholders.

At the time of reporting, Healthcare and Wellness REIT’s share price was $0.72.