Ashurst has acted as the legal adviser to Australian Unity Funds Management Limited (Australian Unity) on the A$740 million refinancing of the corporate debt facilities for the Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust (HPT) and the project financing for the construction of a new public hospital in Brisbane called the Specialist Rehabilitation and Ambulatory Care Centre (SRACC).

The SRACC is part of Australian Unity's Herston Quarter Redevelopment Project, in partnership with Metro North Hospital and Health Service (MNHHS), to develop a world-class health, aged care, medical and research precinct in Brisbane.

The project won the awards for 'Best Social Infrastructure Project' and 'Best Financial Structure' at the PPP Awards 2017, of which the cornerstone of the award-winning project was the greenfield development and operation of SRACC.
 
The A$320 million development facility to fund construction of the SRACC was included in Australian Unity's corporate finance facility agreement. The amended and restated facility agreement is an innovative hybrid corporate finance and project finance facility agreement, with all facilities secured over the whole of HPT's property portfolio and the SRACC development.

Lead partner David Mason (Project Finance) commented: "We are delighted to have worked with Australian Unity and its financial advisor on this highly innovative financing combining a project finance development facility which is quarantined in a single facility agreement from  HPT's existing corporate and acquisition facilities. It was highly ambitious for Australian Unity and the financial advisor to propose this structure and it took considerable discussion with the lenders for them to accept it."

David was assisted by counsel Tim Macmillan and lawyers Jowa Chan and Wilson Lu (Project Finance); with partner Mark Disney, and senior associate Kate Robertson (Infrastructure); and counsel Ann-Janette Reinhardt (Real Estate).