Leading UK and Ireland healthcare sector investor Octopus Healthcare, part of the Octopus Group, has achieved an initial fundraise of £82 million for its latest institutional fund following its conversion to a perpetual life vehicle in the form of a Guernsey Property Unit Trust (GPUT).
The new evergreen healthcare fund was originally established as a closed-ended fund and the change to an authorised open-ended Class Q collective investment scheme will enable Octopus to provide investors with long-term exposure to the UK healthcare sector via an established platform.
Guernsey-headquartered fund administrator IAG and offshore law firm Carey Olsen advised on the fundraise.
The fund is a response to increasing investor appetite for healthcare real estate assets driven by stable, long-term RPI-linked income streams, and favourable pricing relative to other sectors.
A unit trust is not a legal entity, but a trust arrangement whereby the trustee holds the fund assets on trust for the benefit of the investors who hold units in the unit trust. A unit trust is constituted by a trust instrument entered into between the trustee and the manager of the fund, to which investors adhere upon subscribing for units.
The trustee acts as custodian – having a custodian which is independent from the manager is a requirement for Guernsey open ended funds.
IAG has been appointed as trustee and administrator to the GPUT, having worked with Octopus for more than a decade.
Managing Director Mark Woodall said: "We are particularly pleased with the assistance we received from Carey Olsen and the GFSC in creating this unique product, which illustrates how flexible and responsive the Guernsey funds sector can be."
Carey Olsen advised on the legal aspects of the fund's first close, led by Partner Annette Alexander with support from Senior Associate Ruth Abernathy.
Ms Alexander said it had been a pleasure to assist Octopus on the fund's restructuring and highly-successful first close.
"These transactions show the willingness of Guernsey's regulator to accommodate the strategic adjustments fund managers may wish to make their fund portfolios as they respond to the changing needs of the market," she added.
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