Grosvenor Sells Senior Living Portfolio to GPT Group of Australia for $268 Million

Grosvenor Investment Management US Inc. (GIM), on behalf of The Kuwait Finance House, has sold a 1,174-unit portfolio of senior living properties in New England to The GPT Group (ASX:GPT), one of the largest diversified listed property groups in Australia. GPT is joint venturing with the current operator, Benchmark Assisted Living, LLC (BAL) of Wellesley, MA, on the acquisition. The portfolio, comprising 15 properties in five New England states (listed at end), traded for $268 million.

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) November 28, 2007 -- Grosvenor Investment Management US Inc. (GIM), on behalf of The Kuwait Finance House, has sold a 1,174-unit portfolio of senior living properties in New England to The GPT Group (ASX:GPT), one of the largest diversified listed property groups in Australia. GPT is joint venturing with the current operator, Benchmark Assisted Living, LLC (BAL) of Wellesley, MA, on the acquisition. The portfolio, comprising 15 properties in five New England states (listed at end), traded for $268 million.

GIM acquired a 90 percent fee interest in the first 11 properties in 2004 and acquired a 90 percent leasehold interest in the remaining four properties in 2006. Both interests were acquired as part of recapitalizations of existing joint ventures between BAL and AEW Capital Management, LP. The assets provide three types of senior housing services: independent living, traditional assisted living, and assisted living with Alzheimers care. The portfolio's 1,174 living units are currently 94 percent occupied. GIM identified the portfolio as a high quality, high cash-flow Shari'ah-compliant investment opportunity for its Middle Eastern client.

"This portfolio showed remarkable cash flow and appreciation over a 24-month period, providing a strong internal rate of return and multiple of invested capital," said Dick Layman, Senior Managing Director, Grosvenor Investment Management. "It is a testament to the strength of the senior housing market, the quality of Benchmark's portfolio and management team, and the continued interest of offshore investors in stable U.S. assets."

Benchmark Assisted Living, one of the nation's foremost assisted living providers and the most active provider in the Northeast, will continue to serve as GPT's operating partner. In this role, Benchmark will continue to manage all 15 facilities, providing high-quality care and personalized service. Founded in 1997, Benchmark currently owns and operates 43 senior living communities.

Australians have recently eclipsed Middle Easterners and Europeans as the biggest foreign investors in U.S. real estate. Their activity has increased rapidly since 2002, when the national government began requiring employers to pay nine percent of all workers' salaries into retirement accounts. Armed with a flood of cash and required to invest outside the country's boundaries, Australian pension funds led the charge into U.S. markets, followed by other Australian investors.

Based in Philadelphia, GIM serves as Grosvenor's real estate investment management operation in North America. GIM is part of Grosvenor Fund Management, which was established in 2005 as a vehicle for third-party participation in Grosvenor-managed investments. As of June 30, 2007, Grosvenor Fund Management (including GIM) had total funds under management of approximately $6.1 billion internationally. GIM is currently seeking new investment and development opportunities in the U.S. and Canada, including providing joint venture capital, across all product types and risk profiles on behalf of its Fund and Separate Account clients.

Grosvenor is a privately owned group of international property businesses with total assets under management of $22.9 billion as of June 30, 2007. Grosvenor is active in the investment, development and asset management of real estate assets through its operating companies in the Americas, Britain & Ireland, Continental Europe and Australia Asia Pacific, while its fund management business operates across all of these markets.

Property Name                   City        State   Number of Units

Academy Point of Mystic,         Mystic            CT     70
Blenheim - Newport               Middletown    RI   102
Crescent Point at Niantic    Niantic        CT     66
Harbor Point at Centerville    Centerville       MA    65
Orchard Valley at Wilbraham Wilbraham        MA    66
Tatnuck Park at Worcester   Worcester     MA    75
The Arbors                       Shelburne   VT     64
The Falls at Cordingly Dam    Newton            MA    90
Ashland Farms at N.Andover N.Andover    MA    98
Bay Square at Yarmouth      Yarmouth     ME     60
Cabot Park Village           Newton        MA    100
Chestnut Park at Cleveland Circle Brighton    MA    90
Evans Park at Newton Center Newton       MA    115
Greystone Farm at Salem      Salem            NH    65
The Birches at Concord      Concord            NH     48   
                                                                             1174
   
GROSVENOR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT US INC.
1600 MARKET STREET, SUITE 1310, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 19103
Telephone (215) 446-8100 Facsimile (215) 446-8101 Web www.grosvenor.com

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