Description
Welltower is a real estate investment trust that invests in healthcare infrastructure. It ranked 561st on the Fortune 1000 in 2021, and is a component of the S&P 500. As of early 2021, the firm had an enterprise value of $50 billion and is the world's largest healthcare real estate investment trust.
History
The company was founded in 1970 by Bruce Thompson and Frederic D. Wolfe as the first healthcare focused real estate investment trust (REIT). The REIT structure is a tax status that allows commercial real estate income to pass through to shareholders without being taxed at the corporate level. The company was led by George Chapman from 1996 to 2014, when he retired and was succeeded by Thomas DeRosa. DeRosa served on the board for many years before becoming CEO; he has been associated with the company since 1992. DeRosa previously worked as vice chairman and chief financial officer of the Rouse Company before it merged with General Growth Properties.
Originally named Health Care Fund, the company changed its name to Health Care REIT in 1985. Health Care REIT became Welltower in September 2015. The company says its latest name change reflects shifts in its business model and distinguishes it from others in its category.
The 2008 passage of the REIT Investment Diversification and Empowerment Act (RIDEA) prompted a significant change in the company's business model. Prior to RIDEA, healthcare REITs were required to hold their assets under triple-net leases that limited their role primarily to collecting rent. RIDEA allowed healthcare REITs to participate in the actual net operating income of their properties subject to certain requirements such as using a third-party management firm. As of 2015, the company held 35% of its portfolio in RIDEA-structured investments and 27% in properties under triple-net leases.
Welltower stock used to trade under the symbol "HCN" on the New York Stock Exchange. The company changed its ticker symbol to "WELL" on February 28, 2018. Welltower relies heavily on institutional funds to provide capital through public debt and equity markets. As of early 2021, Welltower had a market capitalization of $30 billion. This is up from $150 million in 1992.
Welltower is based in Toledo, Ohio where it maintains a 160-acre campus. As of 2015, it had almost 500 employees. About 200 of them work at its headquarters in Toledo. Welltower also has offices in Jupiter, Florida; Beverly Hills, California; New York City; London; and Toronto. Welltower has about 1,400 properties in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Most of its properties in Canada and the United Kingdom are close to Toronto and London respectively.
