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Di Pilla’s HMC Capital tops $7.5 billion FUM with large hospital group acquisition
HMC Capital, the listed property group formed by former star UBS banker David Di Pilla, has gone from a standing start in 2015 to a retail and commercial investment force, with its latest acquisition pushing the group’s funds under management to $7.5 billion.
HMC recently announced the $1.2 billion acquisition of the Healthscope Hospital Portfolio, which gives it a 100 per cent interest in 11 private hospitals in areas such as Campbelltown, Nepean, Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.
The assets, purchased from New York Stock Exchange listed group Medical Properties Trust, were purchased on behalf of HMC’s HealthCo Healthcare & Wellness REIT and the new $2 billion Healthcare and Life Sciences Unlisted Fund.
The deal comes after HMC completed $320 million in transactions in February, including the purchase of a a strategic life sciences property in Macquarie Park, NSW, which will also go under the HealthCo Healthcare & Wellness REIT. In December it splashed out $242 for two shopping centres from LendLease.
With $7.5 billion of FUM, it is a stunning ascent for the adolescent property group.
HMC first hit the headlines when Di Pilla (pictured) purchased the struggling Masters property portfolio from Woolworths for $725 million in 2016. The group then spent the next few years picking up unloved real assets or those with distressed ownership groups and turning them into valuable commodoties. It’s also branched out into other areas where Di Pilla sees value, such as the $500 million it put down for an 11.1 per cent stake in wholesale pharmacy group Sigma in mid-2022.
Speaking on the Healthscope acquisition, Di Pilla, who operates as managing director and CEO of the group, said he was pleased to announce another major transaction “which delivers on our strategy to deploy capital into high quality alternative assets with significant pricing power and development upside on behalf of our capital partners”.
The HomeCo Daily Needs REIT is the group’s primary fund, with $4.7 million of assets under management and a mandate to invest in convenience-based assets in the neighbourhood retail, large format retail plus health and services sub-sectors.
Backed by the owners of Chemist Warehouse, Spotlight Group and Aurrum, HMC is now the biggest and most active player in the domestic large format retail space.
The group is well on track to reach its stated target of $10 billion FUM in 2024.
