Bartra buys Dublin sites for nursing home developments

Bartra Capital Property, the investment management company founded by developer Richard Barrett, has said it will build and operate multiple nursing homes following the strategic acquisition of Dublin sites.

In June alone, Bartra acquired two ready-to-go nursing home development sites in north Dublin with full planning permission.

Chief executive Mike Flannery intends for the company to become "the premium, and largest, nursing home brand in the country". After years of limited activity in nursing home development, Bartra has identified the sector as one of its key targets, in addition to housing and renewable energy. And it is not just planning to develop nursing homes – it will also operate them, and already has an in-house operations team in place.

On the Old Ballymun Road in Santry, the company will soon begin development of a 114-bed nursing home, comprising 110 single en-suite rooms and four double en-suite rooms.

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It is understood that the 1.06-acre site was acquired in 2015 by one of Ireland’s leading nursing home groups, which then secured planning permission before selling the site to Bartra in an off-market deal in June.

Residents

In its planning application, the former owner outlined the significant undersupply of 400-plus bed spaces in the surrounding catchment area, and noted that all nearby nursing homes were operating at full capacity. Given that little supply has been added since that time, Bartra will probably have little difficulty finding residents when the development is complete.

In a second off-market deal with a different nursing home group, Bartra has acquired a 11.12-acre site at Featherbed Lane in Loughshinny, Skerries, where it will construct a facility with 123 single en-suite bedrooms. The site was formerly owned by a private individual who agreed to sell it in 2015 to a nursing home group. The group successfully obtained planning permission and sold it to Bartra last month for an undisclosed sum.

Hiqa standards

Bartra said that both nursing homes will be “state of the art” and accommodate patients across the spectrum of residential healthcare needs, including Alzheimer’s and dementia care, as well as respite, rehabilitation, convalescence and day care needs. It added that all of its rooms have been designed to exceed relevant Hiqa standards.

Bartra’s ambition of becoming Ireland’s largest nursing home brand is no small feat, given that there are now a number of investors and operators pursuing development of new homes, or expanding existing ones.

However, Mr Flannery expects that in the coming months Bartra will advance towards its goal “via a strategy of site acquisitions and M&A contracts”.