Radius Care plans NZX listing this week: no new shares issued but expansion planned

Elloughton Gardens, Timaru - one of two Radius villages. Photo / Radius Care

Large privately-owned aged-care and retirement village businesses Radius Care plans to list on the NZX this week.

But it won't issue any new shares and the listing is purely so it can expand.

"No new securities will be offered to the public in conjunction with the listing," it said of the main board listing.

Brien Cree, founder and chairman, said the move was to enable further growth and expansion.

"We've built a very solid track record of providing excellent aged care across New Zealand with a particular focus on high acuity and specialist care. In addition, we have also developed two boutique retirement villages," Cree said.

Those two places are Elloughton Village in Timaru and Windsor Court in Ōhaupō in the Waikato.

"The development and villages space is one of the areas where we want to grow, however, we will remain a care-focused business. We have clear plans and targets in place for the next five years and beyond," Cree said.

"I can't wait to ring that bell on listing."

Brien Cree of Radius Care. Photo / supplied

Ryman Healthcare, Summerset Group, Arvida Group and Oceania Healthcare are large retirement and hospital-care businesses listed on the NZX. Metlifecare left the NZX after its takeover by Swedish company EQT.

Consultants JLL estimate around 45,000 people live in villages owned by those five and Bupa in New Zealand.

Radius has 22 geriatric or aged-care hospitals. Combined with the villages, it says it has 1700 residents.

Duncan Cook, Bret Jackson, Timothy Sumner, Mary Gardiner and Hamish Stevens are also directors.

Cree will stay on as managing director and executive chairman.

He said he would be focused specifically on the formulation and execution of the company's next phase of growth.

Stuart Bilbrough was chief financial officer from 2010 to 2017. He returned this year as chief executive responsible for all day-to-day activities.

The company was founded in 2003 and has national operations.

Of the 22 properties where it operates, it only owns three and leases 19 from landlords.

Radius also owns and operates an online shop for specialist assisted-living products.

The company said it has about 1500 staff, including healthcare workers and nurses.

In October, the Herald reported how early in 2010, Cree led a management buyout of the company, which brought it back into New Zealand ownership from foreign investors. Cree said the Kuwait Finance House in Bahrain had owned the business "and I went to Bahrain to meet with them and arranged the buyout."

Around 171m shares are expected to be listed.

"This will give us access to capital via capital raising," Cree said, but he would not specify how much money would be sought.

"We want to buy existing aged care and land for new development."

Last year, Cree said the plight of his mother partly got him into the aged care industry.

"You could say it was a bit of a baptism of fire. My 72-year-old mother had a stroke 17 years ago…I ended up establishing Radius 16 years ago."