State-backed infrastructure fund to invest in primary care centres

The Irish Infrastructure Fund (IIF), run by Irish Life Investment Managers, Australia's AMP Capital and backed by State investment, has set up a new vehicle, Valley Healthcare, to invest in primary care centres in Ireland.

Valley Healthcare has started off by acquiring two operational centres, in Wicklow and in Mayo, which operate on a 25-year lease from the Health Service Executive (HSE). The centres will be managed by Glencar Healthcare, a firm chaired by former HSE chief executive Brendan Drumm.

AMP Capital's Philip Doyle, a principal of the IIF, told The Irish Times on Wednesday that the fund aims for Valley Healthcare to ultimately own between 10 and 20 primary care centres over the next three years or so.

While Glencar, which was set up a year ago, has stated ambitions of buying and building nursing homes and a maternity hospital in Limerick, the company’s involvement in primary care centres will be exclusively with the IIF, Mr Doyle said. IIF will own 100 per cent of the equity of Valley Healthcare and will “by and large” wholly own sub-investments in care centres.

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Mr Doyle declined to give the exact locations of the two primary care centres that have been acquired, or the cost and ultimate amount of investment that will be required to build up a portfolio of as many as 20 centres.

IIF, which was launched in 2012 with a €250 million cornerstone commitment from the State's Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), currently has more than €400 million of investor commitments.