SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Strawberry Fields REIT, a South Bend-based owner of skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and long-term acute care hospitals in the Midwest and South, has begun trading on the OTC Markets Group Inc. under the symbol STRW.
OTCQX is an operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities.
“My partners and I invested significant time and energy to build our company, starting with the acquisition of 33 properties in Indiana and Illinois from 2005 through 2014,” says Moishe Gubin, chairman and CEO of Strawberry Fields REIT. “Since 2014, we have expanded our regional footprint to where we are today with, 74 standalone facilities and four dual-purpose properties.”
“This is the right time to move to a public platform,” he adds. “Utilizing this platform will allow our company to leverage the benefits of a public market with the ability to easily raise equity and access to corporate bonds. Our move to the OTCQX will enhance our ability to grow our portfolio and continue to serve the aging U.S. population.”
Strawberry Fields REIT currently owns and leases properties in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
“Despite the current economic environment, with a variety of issues including staffing challenges, rising labor costs and regulatory challenges, our operators continue to perform well,” says Gubin. “This enabled Strawberry Fields REIT to continue its active investing and management approach.”
Across the Strawberry Fields REIT portfolio, average facility occupancy was 65.1 percent as of June 2022. The current payor mix is 73 percent Medicaid, 13 percent Medicare, 8 percent insurance and 6 percent private. Average facility size is approximately 130 beds.