Heritage Lifecare chief executive Brent Pattison said the purchase was an important and positive step for Heritage as it would bring together two organisations with complementary strengths.
The acquisition adds 15 care homes, eight villages, 926 care beds and 147 village units to Heritage’s national portfolio, alongside New Zealand Aged Care Services (NZACS) workforce and broader support functions.
Brent Pattison, chief executive of Heritage Lifecare.
The deal would further strengthen Heritage’s presence across the North Island, while adding two NZACS sites in Dunedin.
Heritage has grown from 10 homes in 2017 – when Adamantem bought the business – to 40 care homes and 20 villages nationwide.
“NZACS’s experience in dementia and high-acuity care complements our existing portfolio and enhances our ability to care for more older New Zealanders with increasingly complex needs,” Pattison said.
It was the most significant investment that Heritage had made to date and was a “very material transaction”.
Pattison, who has a background in investment banking with brokers Forsyth Barr and Jarden, said an initial public offer (IPO) for the company is not in the offing but was a possibility later.
“It might be a nice IPO prospect one day because it’s part of something that New Zealanders could get behind and support and institutional funds could support, but our focus is on just having a great business and providing great services,” Pattison told the Herald.
“I’ve spent a bunch of time bringing businesses to market, but my focus is on integrating the business,” he said.
Pattison said aged residential care was an area that had struggled financially in recent years, and it was now becoming a critical part of New Zealand’s infrastructure.
A shortage of aged care beds has been forecast and Heritage was one of the few businesses that was wanting to invest to fill the gap.
“This is actually about critical services.
“It’s about dementia care, respite, palliative end-of-life care, and there are a lot of moving parts, with 5000 people up and down the country providing the equivalent of hospital-level care.”
Private operators have had to demonstrate that they’re super efficient in how they run their businesses.
“Ryman’s an incredibly successful retirement village operator, but they also have a good care business.
“So if you’re looking at care beds, we’re just narrowly behind them in terms of total care beds that we have in the market.
“We have ambition to be number one in the market in the provision of aged care beds, or higher acuity aged care beds,” he said.
Pattison said the acquisition was a vote of confidence in the long-term future of aged care in New Zealand.
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.
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