CareTrust REIT Expands into North Dakota


SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Oct. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE) announced today that it has acquired The Meadows on University, a 110-bed skilled nursing facility in Fargo, North Dakota, from an affiliate of HCR ManorCare. CareTrust added the property to its existing master lease with Salt Lake City-based Eduro Healthcare, LLC, which took over operations on October 24, 2018.

Michael Bewsey, Eduro’s Managing Director, said, “We are excited to be growing our footprint in the upper Midwest, which has long been a target market for us.”  In addition to the North Dakota property, Eduro affiliates operate facilities in Utah, Montana, New Mexico, Wisconsin and South Dakota. “The Dakota facilities give us direct access to two markets that have been very receptive to the sophisticated patient-outcome-driven care models that we follow, and we are looking forward to becoming part of the outstanding medical communities there,” he added.

Mark Lamb, CareTrust’s Chief Investment Officer, said that adding The Meadows on University to Eduro’s master lease was “an easy choice, as the Eduro team that has repeatedly demonstrated a superior ability to foster a patient-focused care environment, coupled with a best-in-class support culture for caregivers, nurses and facility leadership.”

The North Dakota transaction was the second leg of a two-facility acquisition from HCR ManorCare, which began with CareTrust’s acquisition of HCR ManorCare’s Prairie Heights Healthcare Center in Aberdeen, South Dakota last July. The Aberdeen facility is also operated by an Eduro affiliate under the CareTrust-Eduro master lease. The Fargo facility is the fourth property to be added to the master lease this year, and the fifth overall.

The total investment for the Fargo facility was approximately $4.75 million, inclusive of transaction costs. The initial increase in annual cash rent from Eduro’s amended master lease will be approximately $425,000. Eduro’s amended master lease has approximately twelve years remaining on the initial term, plus two five-year renewal options, and carries CPI-based annual rent escalators. The acquisition was funded using cash on hand.

About CareTrust REIT

CareTrust REIT, Inc. is a self-administered, publicly-traded real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership, acquisition and leasing of seniors housing and healthcare-related properties. With 191 net-leased healthcare properties and three operated seniors housing properties in 26 states, CareTrust REIT is pursuing opportunities nationwide to acquire additional properties that will be leased to a diverse group of local, regional and national seniors housing operators, healthcare services providers, and other healthcare-related businesses. More information about CareTrust REIT is available at www.caretrustreit.com.

Contact:
CareTrust REIT, Inc.
(949) 542-3130
ir@caretrustreit.com