CARLSBAD, Calif. — Lancaster Pollard has arranged $420 million in financing for Plum Healthcare Group, a Carlsbad-based skilled nursing operator.
The transaction refinances debt for 26 independently licensed and operated skilled nursing facilities throughout California. The loans were through HUD’s Sec. 232/223(f) program.
This was the first HUD transaction for Plum. In addition, it was the largest portfolio refinance closed by HUD/FHA in its fiscal year 2019 and one of the largest ever undertaken by the agency, according to Lancaster Pollard.
The transaction is the conclusion of a $400 million bridge-to-HUD loan, which Lancaster Pollard also arranged in 2018. Credit Suisse provided that bridge financing.
In order to accommodate the workload required by HUD for this size of transaction, the 26 loans were funded in three separate tranches over the last five months of 2019. Approximately 80 percent of the portfolio was four- or five-star facilities, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Five-Star Rating System.
The nonrecourse HUD financing features a fixed rate of 3.8 percent. Grant Goodman, Jason Dopoulos and Elliot Kaple led the transaction for Lancaster Pollard.