The buildings in the Novant portfolio are 100% occupied by divisions of the Novant Healthcare System. Together they consist of just under 250,000 square feet of medical warehouse, accounting, human resources and IT office space.

Over the next two years, Yerrall expects his company to go on a buying spree, snapping up medical office buildings in the US using $150 million of equity. In addition to the Novant Health buildings, RiverOak, which is in a joint-venture with a Persian Gulf investor, plans to acquire an additional medical building, this one in Georgia, in May, for $6 million. The purchase of a sixth building outside of Charlotte, is expected to close in June for under $10 million.

Yerrall says that his company is targeting medical office buildings, because healthcare, as a percentage of GDP, is growing, and could soon reach 20%. Plus, another 30 to 40 million people will be added to the system, because of the recent healthcare reform legislation, he says. RiverOak is targeting secondary markets, because they are less expensive than medical office buildings in the major cities.