NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust releases second
quarter results

TORONTO, Aug. 12 /CNW/ - NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (the "REIT") (TSX:NWH.UN), Canada's largest non-government owner and operator of medical office buildings and healthcare real estate, today announced its results for the three month period ended June 30, 2010 and the period that commenced March 25, 2010, the date of its initial public offering ("IPO"), and ended June 30, 2010. The REIT had no operations prior to March 25, 2010. For 2010 the REIT will be comparing its results to the 2010 Forecast of Financial Information ("FOFI") disclosed in the REIT's offering prospectus dated March 16, 2010 ("Prospectus") which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

Highlights of the Quarter:

    
    -   On April 7, 2010 the REIT issued an additional 1.25 million Units for
        gross proceeds of $12.5 million pursuant to the exercise of the
        over-allotment option granted to the underwriters in connection with
        the IPO.
    -   Following from the REIT's IPO, the REIT and NW Trust have agreed to a
        working capital adjustment in favour of the REIT of approximately
        $11.2 million.
    -   On June 4, 2010 the REIT announced, and subsequent to quarter end
        closed, the acquisition of a newly constructed, multi-tenant medical
        office building, Queen Street Place, just outside of Edmonton,
        Alberta for $21.2 million, subject to closing adjustments. Queen
        Street Place is the dominant medical building in its market and is
        the REIT's third asset in the Edmonton market.
    -   On July 19, 2010, subsequent to quarter end, the REIT announced that
        it waived conditions and expects to close in the third quarter the
        acquisition of a 117,000 square foot property portfolio of two
        buildings in the Montreal and Quebec City areas respectively, for a
        total purchase price of $21.1 million, subject to closing
        adjustments. Both properties are fully leased to government tenants,
        newly constructed, and collectively have an average remaining lease
        term of approximately 12.7 years.
    -   Continued focus on strong acquisition pipeline, including several
        potential transactions currently under review.
    -   Debt to gross book value ratio decreased to 52.9%.
    -   Operating Results and AFFO generally in line with FOFI.
    -   Quarter-end occupancy rate of 90.3%, with current contracted
        occupancy rate of 90.9%
    -   The REIT has completed 71% of all renewal leasing and 45% of all new
        leasing budgeted for the calendar year 2010.
    -   Solid progress on head lease space, with 70% (35,428 sf) of Rockyview
        Professional Centre II in Calgary currently leased or conditionally
        leased to third party tenants and with an announcement subsequent to
        quarter end that approximately 6,000 sf at HealthPark in Sydney will
        be leased by a local healthcare institution.
    -   Distributions paid at the monthly rate of $0.06667 per unit
        consistent with annualized target of $0.80 per unit.


                       SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (unaudited)                                           Three Months Ended
    ($000's, except unit and per unit amounts)              June 30, 2010
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Revenue                                                           19,801
    Net Operating Income                                              11,725
    Funds from Operations ("FFO")                                      6,998
    Adjusted Funds from Operations ("AFFO")                            5,212
    Debt to Gross Book Value                                            52.9%

    Per unit data (Annualized, Fully diluted)
    -----------------------------------------
    FFO                                                                $1.06
    AFFO                                                               $0.79
    Distributions                                                      $0.80
    AFFO Payout ratio                                                  101.7%

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

"The successful completion of the REIT's first full quarter after closing its IPO and the positive market reaction to the REIT's offering as reflected in the exercise of the over-allotment option are important milestones for the REIT," said Peter Riggin, CEO. "With over $42 million of completed or soon-to-be-completed acquisitions, a strong acquisition pipeline, and continued progress against our leasing targets, the REIT continues to be well positioned to achieve its objectives of creating unitholder value through growth by way of acquisitions and through maximizing net income from the existing portfolio."

The REIT ended its first quarter with a debt ratio of 52.9%, all comprised of fixed-rate mortgages. The weighted average interest rate on the debt is 5.58%. Mortgage refinancing for the next two years is negligible with only one mortgage of $1.4 million scheduled to mature in 2010, and no mortgages scheduled to mature in 2011. The REIT's credit facility remained undrawn at quarter end, although $18 million was drawn upon closing of the acquisition of Queen Street Place, when the REIT elected not to assume the vendor's existing debt. The REIT has secured a commitment for first mortgage financing on Queen Street Place of $14 million for 10 years at 4.933% interest which is expected to close in the third quarter.

The non-GAAP measures used in this press release, such as FFO and AFFO, are key financial measures used by the real estate industry to measure and compare the operating performance of real estate companies, but they do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by Canadian generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). As such, they are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other real estate companies. These non-GAAP measures are more fully defined and discussed in the REIT's management discussion and analysis (the "MD&A") for the second quarter of 2010, which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Also on SEDAR are the interim financial statements of the REIT.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the REIT, its operations, strategy, financial performance and condition. These statements generally can be identified by use of forward-looking words such as "may", "will", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intends", "believe", or "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The REIT's actual results and performance discussed herein could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations, including that the transactions contemplated herein are completed. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market factors, competition, changes in government regulations and the factors described under "Risk Factors" in REIT's Prospectus and the risks and uncertainties set out in the MD&A which are available on www.sedar.com. These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements attributable to the REIT and persons acting on its behalf. Unless otherwise stated, all forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the REIT assumes no obligation to update such statements.

The REIT invites you to participate in its conference call with senior management to discuss our second quarter 2010 results on Friday, August 13, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern).

The conference call can be accessed by dialing [phone] or 1-866-212-4491.

Audio replay is available until August 20, 2010 by dialing 1-866-583-1035 and entering access code 4385867, followed by the number sign.

The webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the "Investor Relations" page of the REIT's web site at www.nwhp.ca, and will be archived for 30 days.

For further information: Mike Brady, Senior Vice President, [phone] ext. 243, or www.nwhp.ca