Aedifica NV Commits €12.5 Million to Novaedat-Operated Healthcare Campus in Gandía, Spain

Aedifica NV has committed approximately €12.5 million to develop a purpose-built care campus in Gandía, Spain, the Belgian healthcare real estate company announced Sept. 10, 2026. The campus will be operated by Novaedat under a new 20-year irrevocable triple-net lease and represents Aedifica's first investment in the mental healthcare segment in Spain.

Campus Design and Capacity

The care campus, to be built at Avinguda de Fontilles in Gandía — a municipality of approximately 83,000 inhabitants in the Province of Valencia — will accommodate 160 residents across two independently operating wings. A 120-bed elderly care home will occupy the larger portion of the building, while a separate 40-person wing will serve individuals with chronic mental health conditions, including depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addiction, who require rehabilitation in a protected environment.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2028. Aedifica will finance the project in instalments tied to construction progress, a structure commonly referred to as forward funding.

The building is designed to meet high sustainability standards, incorporating energy-efficient systems and a rooftop solar power installation. The campus is expected to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate rating of 'A.'

Operator Profile: Novaedat

Both components of the campus will be operated by Novaedat, a private care operator with more than 20 years of experience serving the Valencia-Alicante region. Novaedat currently provides elderly and mental health care to approximately 1,080 residents across multiple care homes, assisted-living facilities, and mental health centres, including one existing Aedifica property. The addition of the Gandía campus is expected to bring the total number of residents served through Novaedat's facilities to approximately 1,240.

The Gandía development extends an existing relationship between Aedifica and Novaedat, and the lease structure — a 20-year irrevocable triple-net arrangement with extension options — reflects the long-duration income profile that institutional healthcare landlords typically seek. The initial rental yield on the investment is expected to exceed 6%.

Strategic Context for Aedifica NV

"Aedifica continues to expand its healthcare portfolio by investing approx. €12.5 million in a new to-be-built care campus in Spain at an attractive yield," said Stefaan Gielens, CEO of Aedifica. "This state-of-the-art care campus will combine an elderly care home with a mental health centre. The campus will be purpose-built and will meet the highest standards of care and comfort, accommodating a total of 160 residents. Furthermore, we are pleased to extend our partnership with Novaedat and enter a new healthcare segment in Spain, namely mental healthcare. This transaction brings our total amount of new investments announced in 2026 to approx. €208 million YTD."

The Gandía deal is notable as Aedifica's first move into mental healthcare real estate in Spain, broadening the company's care mix beyond conventional elderly care. Healthcare real estate has attracted sustained institutional interest because of its long-duration lease structures, typically inflation-resistant cash flows, and high occupancy relative to many other property types.

Aedifica manages a healthcare real estate portfolio valued at approximately €12.5 billion across Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland, Spain, France, and Italy. The company is listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam under the ticker symbol AED and had a market capitalisation of approximately €6.1 billion as of Sept. 9, 2026. Aedifica has been a constituent of the BEL 20 index since 2020 and the BEL ESG index since 2023.

Market Implications

The Gandía transaction reflects continued demand for purpose-built senior living and care infrastructure in Spain, where demographic pressure and healthcare capacity needs have supported development activity. By committing to a forward-funded development rather than acquiring a stabilized asset, Aedifica is accepting construction-phase risk in exchange for a development yield that exceeds what stabilized acquisitions in the segment typically offer.

The 20-year triple-net lease structure transfers operating cost risk to Novaedat, a common arrangement in European healthcare real estate that provides landlords with predictable long-term cash flows. With the Gandía campus, Aedifica also deepens its regional presence in the Valencia-Alicante corridor, where Novaedat's operational infrastructure is already established.