Blue Owl Capital Inc has completed a deal to buy a portfolio of UK private hospitals from Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund.
The alternative asset manager paid about £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) for the 12 Spire hospitals, people with knowledge of the transaction said. The properties are currently managed by Moor Park Capital Partners who will be retained as asset manager, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the transaction is not yet public.
The investment in the hospital portfolio has been made through Blue Owl’s European Net Lease Fund, one of the people said. The group has raised about €1.3 billion for the vehicle to date, the person added.
EPF appointed broker Knight Frank to sell the portfolio last year, Bloomberg reported. Representatives for Blue Owl and Moor Park declined to comment. A representative for EPF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While commercial real estate dealmaking has slumped since the end of the cheap money era, properties with long-term and indexed-linked leases have proved a rare bright spot as investors seek to hedge against inflation. That’s led to a flurry of interest in healthcare real estate, where state-backed or quasi-governmental type tenants have also helped lure investors.
Primary Health Properties Plc’s deal to buy rival Assura, a fiercely fought takeover battle with KKR & Co., was among the largest UK real estate transactions last year. PHP is now in talks to sell a stake in a £700 million portfolio of private hospitals to Singapore GIC Pte as it looks to reduce leverage following the transaction.
The use of private healthcare in the UK has grown as the country’s National Health Service struggles to bring down waiting lists that were swollen during the pandemic. One in seven people used private healthcare for themselves of a family member in the 12 months to August 2025, according to a survey published by YouGov. - Bloomberg
