€250m healthcare investment fund launched by Cork firm

The Cork-based investment fund’s firm is being headed up by Paul Kingston, the businessman who oversaw the expansion, from 24 to 800 beds and subsequent sale of CareChoice nursing homes for €70m.

He will oversee the spending of €150m in the development of 1,000 single ensuite rooms in new-build facilities on identified sites, and a further €100m in the purchase, expansion and upgrade of existing facilities which will provide 750 beds.

The fund will open in September, with the money being targeted from both institutional and professional private investors.

The acquisition and upgrade of existing homes, which will ultimately operate under the Aperee brand, will begin soon, with the acquisition of three homes expected before the end of the year. Construction of the new facilities is set to begin early next year.

The venture has the potential to create Ireland’s largest residential care group with a 2,500-strong workforce within five years.

BlackBee’s director, David O’Shea, announced details of the fund, its management vehicle, Aperee, and set out its ambitious targets at an event in Cork this morning.

He said the fund, the first healthcare fund of its kind in Ireland, will use private investment to revolutionise the residential care home market, will create more than 1,500 new jobs, sustain up to 1,000 existing jobs, with the construction phase alone supported up to 800 jobs.

“This fund is designed to show how the private sector can actively support the public sector by providing a supply of quality care home beds to meet the rapidly growing demand,” he said.

“Investors will benefit from a real return, while those using the homes will still have prices set by the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

Residents and their families will benefit from Aperee’s expertise and a new standard of care at the same cost as its competitors.

Mr Kingston, who has more than 22 years of experience in the sector, said he was delighted to join the BlackBee team.

“We will work together to ensure we deliver exceptional standards of facilities and most importantly, care to those who deserve to receive the best of everything,” he said.

Business consultant Alf Smiddy has joined as chairman of the Aperee board.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney said as people live healthier and longer lives, and as our aged population increases, we will need new options for caring for our older population who still have a lot to give.

“A lot needs to happen in a short space of time to meet those demands,” he said.

BlackBee has a team of just over 40 investment experts working across a range of portfolios.

It was reported earlier this year that BlackBee has spent €39m on nursing homes recently, including backing the extension of Cramers Court nursing home near Kinsale in Co Cork, investing in the Ditchley group of homes, and in facilities in Charleville, Co Cork, and Killaloe, Co Clare.

The firm has invested in the iNua hotels collection, which includes the Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney and the Radisson Little Island in Cork, and in almost 17,000 sq ft of office in space in Cork's City Quarter development on Lapp's Quay, and

Its board is chaired by Pat McArdle, a former chief economist with Ulster Bank, who also worked as a public servant in the Department of Finance and the EU Commission. Irish rugby legend Donal Lenihan also sits on the board.