Oxnard Gets Arkansas Firm

LTC Properties Inc., a recently organized real estate investment trust, has moved its headquarters to Oxnard’s Financial Plaza from Fort Smith, Ark. LTC has also already made its first investment--$78 million in mortgage loans to the owners of several groups of nursing homes.

LTC raised $150 million from the sale of stock and debentures when it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 18. It is considering proposals for investing its remaining $64 million of uncommitted funds in the financing of additional health-care businesses, said Andre C. Dimitriadis, chairman and chief executive officer.

“We will limit our investments to long-term care and other health-related enterprises,” Dimitriadis said. “We feel the outlook for nursing homes is quite strong. The number of beds in these facilities hasn’t increased materially in five years, while the number of elderly people continues to grow.”

Dimitriadis is a former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Beverly Enterprises Inc., a nursing home operator that was formerly based in Pasadena but is now headquartered in Fort Smith. LTC’s new president, William McBride III, is a former vice president and controller of Beverly Enterprises.

Dimitriadis, who owns a house in Malibu, said he and McBride chose Oxnard as the company’s headquarters “because we think it’s a very pretty city and because it’s convenient to airports, which will enable us to visit potential investments easily.”

The initial mortgage loans were made to partnerships that own and lease nursing homes to various operators, he said. He declined to name the borrowers, but said the loans are at an initial interest rate of 11.5% and are secured by first mortgages on 43 nursing homes. Proposals now being considered include sale-leaseback deals, he added.