Royal Freemasons Expands Service in Ballarat

Royal Freemasons confirms acquisition of Equisent Group’s aged care and independent living facilities in Ballarat.

The Royal Freemasons’ Homes of Victoria, trading as Royal Freemasons Ltd, has confirmed its acquisition of a residential aged care home and supported living village in Ballarat from Equisent Aged Care Pty Ltd.

Contracts confirming the acquisition were recently executed by both organisations. Equisent Aged Care in Ballarat includes the following:

• Home Residential Care - 42 aged care beds located at 508 Kline Street, Ballarat 
• Canadian Pines Village - 26 new independent living units, next to Home Residential Care
• Vacant land - located at 124 and 126 Spencer Street, Ballarat, will be used for additional car parking and future expansion of Home Residential Care to 90 beds

The CEO of Equisent Group, Hiram Ng, praised Royal Freemasons for its high level of integrity and its strong reputation for the provision of outstanding care in Victoria since 1867. “The high regard in which Royal Freemasons is held is a good fit in terms of the standard of care traditionally delivered by Equisent Aged Care. We anticipate a seamless transition from one owner to the next, while continuing the high level of care and attention to detail that residents have come to expect, being our single most important concern”, Mr. Ng said. 

Royal Freemasons CEO, Felix Pintado said, “This is a wonderful opportunity to provide much needed quality care and accommodation to a broader group of older persons in Ballarat and the surrounding region. These services will also help to address the demand for elder care as Ballarat’s population grows substantially over the coming years.”

“Residents will continue to be cared for by essentially the same people, in the same manner, and they should not unduly notice the change of ownership. The Resident Care Agreement guarantees the continuity of a resident’s care and accommodation under the new ownership of Royal Freemasons, Mr. Pintado said.

Mr. Pintado and Mr Ng have already scheduled meetings for the coming weeks to provide residents, relatives, guardians and employees of Equisent with an opportunity to meet with the senior managers of Royal Freemasons and to address any questions.

The acquisition of Equisent’s aged care facilities in Ballarat represents a significant milestone in Royal Freemasons’ strategic decision to expand its service offerings in regional Victoria. Royal Freemasons will assume responsibility for the Equisent facilities from Wednesday 1st March 2017. Equisent will continue to be involved as the appointed project delivery partner and builder of the 48-bed extension, working closely with Royal Freemasons to deliver a state of the art aged care facility to the people of Ballarat.

Click here to find out more about Royal Freemasons' aged care services.