Feature Q&A on Healthcare Property Market Why are complex, small assets attracting attention of institutional investors?

The healthcare facility investment market in Japan has begun to take off. AIP-Japan, the investment management company that has been leading the market, and Shinsei Bank are planning to launch healthcare REITs. Looking into the future, when housing and facilities for the elderly will be in short supply, flow of investment money into the healthcare field will be inevitable.

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• 05.16.2013 NTT Urban redevelops Ginza Hotel NTT Urban Development acquired Hotel Ginza Raffinato in Ginza, Chuo-ku in April 2013. The seller was the NTT Health Insurance Society (NTT Kenko Hoken Kumiai). The buyer plans to reconstruct the building into a rental office property, with the assumed completion of construction sometime around the fall or winter of 2015. The scale and the company's plans for the new building have yet to be determined.

• 05.16.2013 Commercial facility in Setagaya-ku sold GK Arcadia 4 sold Corinne Bajikoen, a commercial facility in Kami-Youga, Setagaya-ku, in March 2013. The company was once a special purpose company managed by Tokyu Land, which has stated that it has no connection with the transaction since it is no longer involved with the management. The transferee was GK SSG4, another SPC.

• 05.16.2013 Nomura sold rental apartment in Aoyama Nomura Real Estate Development sold rental apartment building Proud Flat Minamiaoyama in Minami-Aoyama in Minato-ku. The buyer was Otaku-based realtor Shioda Fudosan. Shioda Fudosan did not reveal the purpose of the acquisition.

• 05.15.2013 Ichigo REIT acquiring office buildings, sports facility REIT Ichigo Real Estate will acquire three properties including the Sotokanda Center Building in Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku in June 2013. The sellers are special purpose companies in which the REIT's sponsor Ichigo Group Holdings holds a majority interest. The total price of the three properties is 8.65 billion yen [$87 million].

• 05.15.2013 Atrium subsidiary purchases Azabu rental apartment Hayabusa Trust, the asset holding subsidiary of Atrium, acquired Minami-Azabu Duplex R's, a rental apartment building in Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku in February 2013. The company will operate the property as a rental asset. The seller was GK Duplex Fifty-Eighth.

• 05.15.2013 Mitsui-Soko sells Ikebukuro building to Mitsubishi UFJ Lease In March 2013, Mitsui-Soko, a logistics operator of the Mitsui Group, disposed of the Ikebukuro West Park Building, an office property in Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku. The buyer was Nagoya City-based Miyuki Building, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance that is engaged in building lease and management. The company added the acquired property to its rental assets.

• 05.14.2013 Horizon Capital obtains Hiroo building through M&A It has been discovered that Minato-ku-based private real estate company Horizon Capital Partners has obtained all of the shares of Nippon Alpha Electric through a subsidiary. The acquisition took place in December 2012 with the aim of leveraging the real estate held by Nippon Alpha Electric. The acquisition price was not revealed.

• 05.14.2013 Asahi Shinkin Bank exchanges land with Pentel to rebuild HQ Asahi Shinkin Bank exchanged about 300 m2 of land that it owns in Iwamotocho, Chiyoda-ku for the Tokyo branch of stationary manufacturer Pentel in Higashi-Kanda in February 2013. Asahi Shinkin Bank will demolish the existing structure and construct a new building together with its adjacent headquarters.

• 05.14.2013 Goodman, Abu Dhabi develops Nagoya logistics facility Midori TMK acquired 25,864 m2 of land in Kitasaki-machi, Obu City, which is on the suburbs of Nagoya City of Aichi Prefecture, in April 2013. Midori TMK is a special purpose company financed by Goodman Japan and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC). The SPC will construct a logistics facility named Goodman Obu on the site.