Developer Citybranch completes £35m funding deal for Altrincham health hub

North West property and investment firm Citybranch Ltd has completed a multi-million pound funding agreement for the development of the South Trafford Health and Wellbeing Centre in Altrincham.

The £35m deal, struck with finance firm Canada Life, will see the medical hub fully let to NHS Property Services on a 30-year income strip lease, allowing the organisation to acquire the freehold interest at the end of the lease term for £1.

The bespoke facility will include GP practices, a pharmacy and a café, as well as a health and wellbeing care coordination centre.

Additionally, the centre will house a new library to be operated by Trafford Council.

Citybranch director Adam Gross said: “This is an entirely new approach to health and social care delivery that enables the co-location of services and creates an exemplar template for other public bodies to follow.

“It also allows the NHS to dispose of assets that are no longer fit-for-purpose and enter into highly-favourable arrangements without the need to raise any capital expenditure.”

He added: “The income strip lease will give the tenant complete control over the management, running and future ownership of the building – a big step forward from the PFI model traditionally used by the NHS.”

Citybranch was advised on the deal by property investment company Christopher Dee and law firm Addleshaw Goddard.

Christopher Bathurst, a partner at Christopher Dee, commented: “The income strip model is proving a successful structure to facilitate large-scale public and private sector projects, where development risk remains with the private sector which is rewarded with long-term secure income flows.”

Canada Life was advised by real estate firm CBRE and NHS Property Services by Cushman & Wakefield.

With the forward funding agreement in place, demolition and construction will begin immediately.

The development is due for completion in Spring 2018.

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