Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has, on behalf of its clients, sold its 21% stake in the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (“VCCC” or “the Centre”), a cancer research, treatment and education centre in Melbourne, Australia, to AMP Capital’s Community Infrastructure Fund.
Partners Group was part of the winning Plenary Health consortium selected by the Victorian Government in late 2011 to deliver the VCCC in a public-private-partnership (PPP) project. As Australia’s first dedicated, state-of-the-art cancer research and treatment facility, the Centre was envisaged to save lives through the integration of research, education and patient care. The PPP project scope included the design, construction and commissioning of the VCCC facilities as well as their ongoing maintenance under a 25-year concession agreement. The completed Centre has 13 levels, 160 inpatient beds, 110 day beds and eight operating theatres, and can host up to 1,200 researchers. Plenary Health completed the VCCC on time and on budget at a total cost of AUD 1 billion and operations began seamlessly in June 2016.
Benjamin Haan, Partner, Head of Private Infrastructure Asia, Partners Group, states: “We are immensely proud of having supported the Victorian Government in realizing its innovative vision for the future of cancer care by delivering this critical social infrastructure project on time and within budget, alongside our consortium partners. With the facility now fully operational, and having received strong interest from potential buyers, Partners Group decided to divest its stake in this groundbreaking Centre ahead of the original investment plan to an experienced investor with a long-term investment horizon and a socially responsible investment remit.”
Partners Group continues to be a strong supporter of Australian PPP projects on behalf of its clients. In September 2014, it announced it was investing into the PPP project to build and operate the new Sydney Metro Northwest rail service for the New South Wales Government. In November 2016, the firm announced it would be investing in Melbourne’s High Capacity Metro Trains PPP, an AUD 2 billion project to deliver 65 trains to the State of Victoria.
