NAB, CBA and Bank Australia provide $260m joint debt facility
Deal highlights
· $260m facility will support the acquisition of Signature Care
· Signature Care has eight operational residential aged care facilities, and a growth pipeline of six development sites
· The transaction includes $35m of social loan notes provided by Qantas Super and Australian Ethical Investment.
7 August 2024 - NAB, CBA and Bank Australia are backing For Purpose Investment Partners (For Purpose), Australia’s pioneering impact investment manager, with over $260m of debt facilities. The facility will support the For Purpose Aged Care Australia (FPACA) platform for the acquisition of Signature Care.
FPACA is a not-for-profit aged care platform focused on achieving excellent health and wellbeing outcomes for residents and attracting and retaining quality staff. The platform brings together Luson Aged Care and Signature Care and will have over 2500 beds creating a top 15 Australian aged care provider. The support of NAB, CBA and Bank Australia follows the landmark commitment of institutional investors Qantas Super and Australian Ethical Investment, announced in April 2024.
Announcing the commitment Michael Traill, Executive Director of For Purpose said “We are delighted to partner with NAB, CBA and Bank Australia to support the expansion of our aged care platform. This further expands our existing relationships with NAB and CBA and we are excited about our first partnership with Bank Australia. With this debt facility the banks are demonstrating their leadership in financing social impact in Australia while supporting better outcomes for thousands of Australians in aged care.
“The inclusion of $35m in social loan notes is a further endorsement of the strength of the FPACA platform to deliver institutional grade long term financial returns and social impact.”
Toby Hall, Chair of FPACA said “We have an ambition of transforming the aged care sector to have a broader social impact that starts with person-centred care and a valued workforce. The support of the banks, preceded by that of institutional investment, demonstrates the value of aged care and the role it plays for Australians and their families.”
John McCarthy, Head of Corporate Health, NAB said “NAB is delighted to be partnering with FPACA as they continue to support the aged care sector and bring critical social infrastructure to regional locations. As a banker to the seniors living sector for over 10 years, I know how important the investment in quality aged care is to communities. I’m proud that the NAB Corporate Health team has played a role in enabling such an investment and look forward to seeing it come to life.”
General Manager, Major Client Group CBA Craig McQuillen said “We are proud to support For Purpose in their ambition to transform the aged care sector and create positive social impact. The deal features a unique social loan note structure which aligns investors to long-term returns and is the largest transaction of this nature in our Business Bank to date.”
Bank Australia Head of Impact Lending Tim Von Ess said ‘‘Through Bank Australia’s impact lending we aim to meet our customers’ expectations that their money is used to generate positive social and environmental impact. We’re pleased to be involved in FPACA’s acquisition of Signature Care and helping to increase in the supply of high-quality aged care accommodation and care for older Australians.’’
The commitment supports the previously announced strategic acquisition of Signature Care by FPACA. With eight operating aged care facilities, the potential growth pipeline includes six development sites across Australia with a focus on regional centres.
ENDS
For Purpose Aged Care Australia (FPACA) has acquired a new 89-bed residential aged care home in Wallan, Victoria. The home, which is newly built and currently unoccupied, will open to residents in early September 2026.
Wallan sits within one of Victoria’s fastest-growing regions. The acquisition brings 89 high-quality residential aged care places into service in the corridor and will create local aged care jobs through FPACA’s recruitment in the months ahead. It will be the first residential aged care home located in the town of Wallan.
FPACA will use the four months between exchange and opening to complete commissioning, recruit and induct staff, establish clinical governance, and engage with the local community so that the home is ready to deliver care from day one.
“This is a high-quality home in a growing community, and our focus now is on getting it ready to deliver the standard of care that residents and families deserve,” said Matthew Filocamo, Group CEO of For Purpose Aged Care Australia. “Aged care is at its best when it keeps people connected to their families and their community. Over the next four months we will be recruiting locally, engaging with the Wallan community, and making sure that on opening day this home reflects FPACA’s values and model of care.”
Demand for residential aged care in Australia continues to rise as the population ages. KPMG’s 2025 Aged Care Market Analysis reports that the number of people in residential aged care grew to 196,848 at 30 June 2024, with occupancy lifting to 88% as supply tightens.
The Wallan acquisition is the latest step in FPACA’s growth strategy, established by For Purpose Investment Partners (FPIP), the social impact investment manager behind FPACA. New bed development across the sector has slowed in recent years, and acquisitions of this kind play an important role in expanding quality capacity for older Australians.
“This is exactly the outcome the sector needs more of: a high-quality, purpose-built home coming into service for older Australians who need it, backed by an operator with the capability to run it well for the long term,” said Victoria Adams, Managing Director of For Purpose Investment Partners. “New beds are hard to bring into the Australian aged care system, and we are proud to be playing our part. Wallan is a clear example of what happens when patient capital and a strong operator come together with a shared social mission. 89 older Australians and their families will benefit, and the community gains a permanent piece of care infrastructure.”
About For Purpose Aged Care Australia
For Purpose Aged Care Australia is a national aged care provider with a clear social mission: to deliver high-quality care while creating meaningful social impact. Backed by ethical investors, FPACA reinvests in its people, places, and programs to ensure older Australians receive the respect and support they deserve. The organisation operates more than 2,150 residential aged care beds across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia, with a further 600 currently in development.
Spencer Ratliff will step down as Group CEO of Able Foods and Tender Loving Cuisine (TLC), effective from 5 June 2026.
Spencer co-founded Able Foods in 2020 with a clear purpose: provide access to safe and healthy food, reduce food insecurity, and promote greater independence and choice and control around meal times for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants and older Australians. Under his leadership, Able Foods built a reputation for quality, inclusion, and social impact, becoming a certified B Corporation.
Following FPIP's acquisition of Able Foods in 2022, Spencer led the business through a period of growth and product expansion. In 2024, his remit extended to Tender Loving Cuisine (TLC) as Group CEO across the FP Ability platform.
Rob Blackwell, Executive Chair of FP Ability, will assume the role of Interim Group CEO while a search for Spencer's successor is conducted. Rob will work closely with the leadership teams at both Able Foods and TLC to ensure continuity for customers, staff, and partners through the transition.
Quote from Rob Blackwell, Executive Chair, FP Ability
“Spencer's contribution to Able Foods and TLC has been significant. He co-founded a business with purpose at its core, and he has built something the sector genuinely values. We are grateful for his leadership and for the teams he has shaped. As Interim Group CEO, my focus will be on supporting both businesses through a seamless transition while we identify the right long-term leader to take them forward. We wish Spencer every success in what comes next.”
Quote from Spencer Ratliff
"Co-founding Able Foods and leading both Able Foods and Tender Loving Cuisine has been one of the most fulfilling chapters of my career. Knowing that the work we do genuinely improves quality of life for some of Australia's most vulnerable people made every moment of it worth it. With both businesses well-positioned and strong leadership teams in place, this feels like the right moment to step back. I'm grateful to the teams, our customers, and FPIP for their trust and support."
When Catholic Healthcare announced the closure of St Francis Aged Care in Grafton - a home that, due to the age of the building and the layout of its rooms and facilities, was no longer suited to providing the standard of contemporary aged care residents deserve - residents faced an abrupt and deeply personal loss. Many had lived there for years.
For Coleen, who spent eight and a half years at St Francis, the news came without warning. 'We only found out three weeks before,' she recalls. 'We didn't know we were going, and we didn't know it was being closed.'
What made the difference was how South Grafton Community Aged Care responded. For Purpose Aged Care's newest 144-bed facility opened on 1 December 2025. On that first day, 40 St Francis residents arrived - along with approximately 30 familiar staff members. Ngaere was the first resident welcomed through the doors. She keeps the photo the staff printed to mark the moment. 'That's me,' she says, pointing to herself at the entrance. 'First one through.'
The decision to absorb such a large cohort in a single day was bold, and Residential Manager Toni didn't underestimate it. 'I knew I was getting 40 people on one day,' she says. 'I've done this for years and it is not how you'd usually plan it.' But the day itself surprised her. 'It was amazing. It went off really well.' Her team approached the challenge with care and compassion - many of them having made the move from St Francis themselves, and understanding exactly what residents were going through.
The continuity of care staff provided proved critical. For Bryson, a lifelong Grafton local, familiar faces eased the transition considerably. 'That made it easier for me,' he says. 'More relaxed, you know?' For Alwyn and Jill - a couple who had volunteered at St Francis for 14 years before becoming residents themselves - the staff who came across were an anchor point during the adjustment. 'They came with us,' Alwyn says simply. 'That was good.'
Three months on, residents are settling in. Coleen notes the first month was hard, but adds: 'This last month has been better. It's a big change.' She praises the staff warmly: 'They're wonderful.' Alwyn is more direct: 'The facility is A-plus. They're not wrong on a thing.' Ngaere puts it simply: 'We're beautifully looked after.'
Toni credits her team's commitment for the smoother-than-expected transition, and is candid about the scale of the undertaking; the home had welcomed more than 80 residents and was around 50% full within barely two months of opening. 'It's been an experience,' she says. 'Lots of hard work, long hours but we've been given this beautiful home.'
The move was hard. Grafton is a small regional community, and the loss of St Francis was felt widely. But in welcoming 40 residents and 30 staff on a single day, For Purpose Aged Care gave something back: continuity, connection, and a new place to call home.
'It's their home,' says Toni. 'We're just working here.'
For Purpose Investment Partners acknowledges and pays respect to the past and present Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
We believe that diversity, equity and inclusion at For Purpose Investment Partners are critical in our efforts to create significant social impact. Diversity in the team allows us to better represent the diversity of thought and experiences of the communities that we are aiming to serve, promotes a healthy and thriving working environment, and delivers innovative and sustainable outcomes for our communities, our people, our investors and our partners.
