Senior Housing Investment & Asset Management

Sophos Equities targets turnaround and performance enhancement through both principal acquisitions and bespoke advisory. If you are an owner/lender with struggling assets or a broker with assets to sell – I want to talk to you.

scott@sophoseq.com / 415.696.3313

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Acquisition

Sophos targets acquisition of underperforming or semi-stabilized senior housing communities. See FAQs for acquisition criteria.

Operator Transition

There is a mismatch of capital + operators. We provide selection, structuring, and change management expertise to realign struggling assets that cannot sell or refinance.

Bespoke Advisory

Senior housing is complex, and not all needs fit into the prior buckets. We have worked with operators, lenders, and owners on situationally-specific assignments.

About Scott Hougham, Principal

Senior housing is an operating business that happens to be financed/valued as real estate. Anyone claiming to add value to the process must primarily do so through this lens (a decade for me). I entered senior housing working in Atria Senior Living, now the 2^nd largest operator in the US, and worked through a variety of roles in business optimization, tech product management, asset management/owner relations, and ended my time leading the dev/redev platform for the West coast.

I spun out of Atria in early 2021 to start Sophos as an investment platform targeting underperforming assets. It quickly became apparent that the optimal window to purchase was yet in the future as the industry faced the sequential challenges and price depressors of COVID, labor competition, inflation, and interest rate hikes/cap rate compression. I quickly pivoted the business to include advisory/asset mgmt services while the industry was yet crossing the chasm. This is largely modeled after Stephen Schwarzman’s three-business approach as he started Blackstone (first advisory, second PE/LBOs, finally new business ventures).

To cover the stats . . . I hold a BA in Biology/History from the University of Kentucky, MBA from the University of Louisville, and Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. We only charge firms with UCLA principals a 1.5x fee multiplier, well below the 2x standard (fight on!). I maintain a bicoastal presence in Northern California and the Washington, D.C. area. Planes and Zoom make geography small.

Sophos FAQs

Who are we, what are we doing, and why on earth would you want to work with Sophos?

What are Sophos’ acquisition criteria?

We are pursuing two primary buckets: 1) well-located underperforming assets <5 years old, and 2) semi-stabilized assets 25-30 years old or newer that have in-place cashflow but potential upside through occupancy or operational efficiencies. We are geographically agnostic, though hurricane-prone areas (parts of TX/FL) are a quick no for us, ceteris paribus.

I’m confused – are you a broker?

We get this question frequently. 1) Yes Scott/Sophos have a CA broker license, but don’t use it. 2) Sophos provides is a trusted advisor to a number of owners/lenders/operators. 3) We are also on the principal/acquisition side of the business. Integrity/reputation is paramount so if there is a conflict we will raise a flag immediately, but we find that straddling multiple platforms drives excess value to clients.

Does Sophos work with SNFs?

We address strictly the senior housing spectrum (independent living, assisted living, and memory care). Skilled nursing facilities do not fall within the firm’s circle of competence.

Why should I hire Sophos for advisory work?

Your assets need a deep understanding of operating fundamentals whether you are hiring Sophos for brief, scale-up horsepower or for our outside expertise. We are a flat-fee firm which allows us to focus on results, not billable hours. Some firms see the opportunity in the demographics or other external motivating factors – we’re here for the long run and are dedicated to performance.

How are advisory engagements billed?

Operator transitions and quarterly asset management reporting are structured as a flat-fee engagement with performance milestones. For more bespoke options we can bill on a retainer basis with low minimums. We believe in pricing transparency, and you can access current pricing after answering a few questions under the "More Info" buttons (only fair we should be able to know who you are, and do expect a follow-up).

What does Sophos mean?

Sophos is a Greek word (σοφός) that literally translates “wise” or “skilled.” The senior housing industry has destroyed, ad nauseum, most other words for older/wiser people. We’d like to think that σοφός represents both the population that we serve and the nature of the expertise we provide.

Note: While they share the same root, “sophos” is not to be confused with “sophist,” a wholly separate word. "Sophos" maintains a positive connotation of wisdom and skill, while "sophist" has come to denote a more pejorative sense, often implying deceit or superficial knowledge masquerading as true wisdom. We meet these individuals on panels at conferences occasionally.