NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust releases first
quarter results

TORONTO, May 14 /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, is pleased to report its results for the interim period that commenced March 25, 2010, the date of its initial public offering ("IPO"), and ended March 31, 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:

    
    -   Completed the IPO of 17.5 million units of the REIT ("Units") on
        March 25, 2010 for gross proceeds of $175.0 million, concurrently
        acquiring 45 healthcare real estate properties in six provinces
        totaling 2.7 million square feet of rentable area and repaying
        $47.7 million of mortgage debt.
    -   Subsequent to the end 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.
    -   Secured a revolving credit facility with a maximum principal amount
        of $35 million for future acquisitions and working capital purposes.
    -   Debt to gross book value ratio decreased to 54%.
    -   Continued focus on strong acquisition pipeline, including several
        potential transactions currently in due diligence.
    -   Operating Results and AFFO consistent with FOFI.
    -   Distribution of $0.0837 per Unit declared for the period from IPO
        closing to the end of April ($0.80 per unit on an annualized basis).
    

"The closing of the IPO was a key milestone for the REIT, the leader in healthcare real estate ownership and management in Canada," said Peter Riggin, CEO. "With a significantly enhanced balance sheet, our in-place credit facility and the support of the public equity markets, the REIT is well positioned to achieve its objectives of creating unit holder value through growth by way of acquisitions and through maximizing net income from the existing portfolio." Operating Highlights of the Quarter (including the period from January 1, 2010 to March 24, 2010 involving operations from the REIT's predecessor entity):

    
    -   Renewed approximately 50% of 2010 expiries.
    -   92% tenant retention rate of leased area that expired in the first
        quarter.
    -   New leasing activity of approximately 30,000 square feet, although
        some occupancy dates delayed as against expectations.
    -   In aggregate, renewal and new leasing rents in line with
        expectations.
    -   Portfolio occupancy rate of 90.7%.
    

The REIT ended its first quarter with a debt ratio of 54.2%, 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 remains undrawn.

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 first 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 NorthWest 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. NorthWest 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 NorthWest 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, NorthWest REIT assumes no obligation to update such statements.

The REIT invites you to participate in its conference call with senior management to discuss our first quarter 2010 results on Monday, May 17, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. E.D.T.

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

Audio replay is available until May 24th, 2010 by dialing 1-866-583-1035 and entering access code 4385867.

The webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the "Investor Information" 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