We cannot assure you that we will be able to manage the new properties without encountering difficulties or that any such difficulties will not have a material adverse effect on us.

Our facilities may not achieve expected results or we may be limited in our ability to finance future acquisitions, which may harm our financial condition and operating results and our ability to make the distributions to our stockholders required to maintain our REIT status.

Acquisitions and developments entail risks that investments will fail to perform in accordance with expectations and that estimates of the costs of improvements necessary to acquire and develop facilities will prove inaccurate, as well as general investment risks associated with any new real estate investment. Newly-developed or newly-renovated facilities may not have operating histories that are helpful in making objective pricing decisions. The purchase prices of these facilities will be based in part upon projections by management as to the expected operating results of the facilities, subjecting us to risks that these facilities may not achieve anticipated operating results or may not achieve these results within anticipated time frames.

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We anticipate that future acquisitions and developments will largely be financed through externally generated funds such as borrowings under credit facilities and other secured and unsecured debt financing and from issuances of equity securities. Because we must distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, excluding net capital gains, each year to maintain our qualification as a REIT, our ability to rely upon income from operations or cash flows from operations to finance our growth and acquisition activities will be limited.

If our facilities do not achieve expected results and generate ample cash flows from operations or if we are unable to obtain funds from borrowings or the capital markets to finance our acquisition and development activities, amounts available for distribution to stockholders could be adversely affected and we could be required to reduce distributions, thereby jeopardizing our ability to maintain our status as a REIT.

If we suffer losses that are not covered by insurance or that are in excess of our insurance coverage limits, we could lose investment capital and anticipated profits.

Our leases and mortgage loans, generally require our tenantstenants/borrowers to carry property, general liability, professional liability, loss of earnings, all risk and extended coverage insurance in amounts sufficient to permit the replacement of the facility

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in the event of a total loss, subject to applicable deductibles. We carry general liability insurance and loss of earnings coverage on all of our properties as a contingent measure in case our tenant’s coverage is not sufficient. However, there are certain types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and acts of terrorism, which may be uninsurable or not insurable at a price we or our tenantstenants/borrowers can afford. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors also might make it impracticable to use insurance proceeds to replace a facility after it has been damaged or destroyed. Under such circumstances, the insurance proceeds we receive might not be adequate to restore our economic position with respect to the affected facility. If any of these or similar events occur, it may reduce our return from the facility and the value of our investment. We continually review the insurance maintained by our tenants and operatorstenants/borrowers and believe the coverage provided to be adequate and customary for similarly situated companies in our industry. However, we cannot provide any assurances that such insurance will be available at a reasonable cost in the future. Also, we cannot assure you that material uninsured losses, or losses in excess of insurance proceeds, will not occur in the future.

Our capital expenditures for facility renovation may be greater than anticipated and may adversely impact rent payments by our tenants and our ability to make distributions to stockholders.

Facilities, particularly those that consist of older structures, have an ongoing need for renovations and other capital improvements, including periodic replacement of fixtures and fixed equipment. Although our leases require our tenants to be primarily responsible for the cost of such expenditures, renovation of facilities involves certain risks, including the possibility of environmental problems, regulatory requirements, construction cost overruns and delays, uncertainties as to market demand or deterioration in market demand after commencement of renovation and the emergence of unanticipated competition from other facilities. All of these factors could adversely impact rent and loan payments by our tenants and returns on our equity investments, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations along with our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

All of our healthcare facilities are subject to property taxes that may increase in the future and adversely affect our business.

Our facilities are subject to real and personal property taxes that may increase as property tax rates change and as the facilities are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. Our leases generally provide that the property taxes are charged to our tenants as an expense related to the facilities that they occupy. As the owner of the facilities, however, we are ultimately responsible for payment of the taxes to the government. If property taxes increase, our tenants may be unable to make the required tax payments, ultimately requiring us to pay the taxes. If we incur these tax liabilities, our ability to make expected distributions to our stockholders could be adversely affected. In addition, if such taxes increase on properties in which we have an equity investment in the tenant, our return on investment maybe negatively affected.

As the owner and lessor of real estate, we are subject to risks under environmental laws, the cost of compliance with which and any violation of which could materially adversely affect us.

Our operating expenses could be higher than anticipated due to the cost of complying with existing and future environmental laws and regulations. Various environmental laws may impose liability on the current or prior owner or operator of real property for removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances. Current or prior owners or operators may also be liable for government fines and damages for injuries to persons, natural resources and adjacent property. These environmental laws often impose liability whether or not the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence or disposal of the hazardous or toxic substances. The cost of complying with environmental laws could materially adversely affect amounts available for distribution to our stockholders and could exceed the value of all of our facilities. In addition, the presence of hazardous or toxic substances, or the failure of our tenants to properly manage, dispose of or remediate such substances, including medical waste generated by physicians and our other healthcare tenants,

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operators, may adversely affect our tenants or our

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ability to use, sell or rent such property or to borrow using such property as collateral which, in turn, could reduce our revenue and our financing ability. We typically obtain Phase I environmental assessments (or similar studies) on facilities we acquire or develop or on which we make mortgage loans, and intend to obtain on future facilities we acquire. However, even if the Phase I environmental assessment reports do not reveal any material environmental contamination, it is possible that material environmental contamination and liabilities may exist, of which we are unaware.

Although the leases for our facilities and our mortgage loans generally require our operators to comply with laws and regulations governing their operations, including the disposal of medical waste, and to indemnify us for certain environmental liabilities, the scope of their obligations may be limited. We cannot assure you that our tenants would be able to fulfill their indemnification obligations and, therefore, any material violation of environmental laws could have a material adverse affecteffect on us. In addition, environmental laws are constantly evolving, and changes in laws, regulations or policies, or changes in interpretations of the foregoing, could create liabilities where none exist today.

Our interests in facilities through ground leases expose us to the loss of the facility upon breach or termination of the ground lease, and may limit our use of the facility and may result in additional expense to us if our tenants vacate our facility.

We have acquired interests in 33 of our facilities, at least in part, by acquiring leasehold interests in the land on which the facility is located rather than an ownership interest in the property, and we may acquire additional facilities in the future through ground leases. As lessee under ground leases, we are exposed to the possibility of losing the property upon termination, or an earlier breach by us, of the ground lease.lease, which would be a negative impact to our financial condition.  Ground leases may also restrict our use of facilities, which may limit our flexibility in renting the facility and may impede our ability to sell the property.  Finally, if our lease expires or is terminated for whatever reason resulting in the tenant vacating the facility, we would be responsible for the ground lease payments until we found a replacement tenant, which would negatively impact our cash flows and results of operations.

Our acquisitions may not prove to be successful.

We are exposed to the risk that some of our acquisitions may not prove to be successful. We could encounter unanticipated difficulties and expenditures relating to any acquired properties, including contingent liabilities, and acquired properties might require significant management attention that would otherwise be devoted to our ongoing business. In addition, we might be exposed to undisclosed and unknown liabilities related to any acquired properties. If we agree to provide construction funding to an operator/tenant and the project is not completed, we may need to take steps to ensure completion of the project. Moreover, if we issue equity securities or incur additional debt, or both, to finance future acquisitions, it may reduce our per share financial results. These costs may negatively affect our results of operations.

RISKS RELATING TO THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

Reductions inThe continued pressure on fee-for-service reimbursement from third-party payors and the shift towards alternative payment models, could adversely affect the profitability of our tenants and hinder their ability to make payments to us.

Sources of revenue for our tenants and operators may include the Medicare and Medicaid programs, private insurance carriers, and health maintenance organizations, among others. Efforts by such payorsIn addition to ongoing efforts to reduce healthcare costs, could continue, which may result in reductions or slower growth in reimbursement for certain services provided by some of our tenants. In addition, the failure of any of our tenants to comply with various laws and regulations could jeopardize their ability to continue participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and other government-sponsored payment programs.

The U.S. healthcare industry continues to face various challenges, including increased government and private payor pressure on healthcare providers to control or reduce costs. For example, we believe thatshift in our tenants will continue to experience a shift intenants' payor mix away fromfee-for-service payors which would resultresults in an increase in the percentage of revenues attributable to alternative payment models implemented by private and

Index government payors, which can lead to Financial Statements

government payors. CMSreductions in reimbursement for services provided by our tenants. There is particularly focusedcontinued focus on transitioning Medicare from its traditionalfee-for-service model to models that employ one or more capitated, value-based, or bundled payment approaches, and private payors are continuing to explore and implementhave implemented similar types of alternative payment models. Such efforts from private and government payors, in addition to general industry trends, continue to place pressures on our tenants to control healthcare costs. Furthermore, pressures to control healthcare costs and a shift away from traditional health insurance reimbursement have resulted in an increase in the number of patients whose healthcare coverage is provided under managed care plans, such as health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations. These shifts place further cost pressures on our tenants. We also continue to believe that, due to the aging of the population and the expansion of governmental payor programs, there will be a marked increase in the number of patients relying on healthcare coverage provided by governmental payors. All of these changes could have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of some or all of our tenants, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and could negatively affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. In instances where we have an equity investment in our tenants’ operations, in addition to the effect on these tenants’ ability to meet their financial obligations to us, our ownership and investment interests may also be negatively impacted.

CMS’s increased regulatory restrictions on reimbursement for LTACH, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (“IRFs”IRF”), has reduced reimbursement for some tenants that operate LTACHs and IRFs, and CMS has also begun to implement regulatory restrictions on reimbursement for hospital outpatient departments (“HOPD”), which may alsoHOPD can lead to reduced to reimbursement for our tenants that operate HOPDs.such facilities and departments. CMS is likely to continue exploring other restrictions on

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LTACH, IRF, and HOPD reimbursement and possibly develop more restrictive facility and patient level criteria for these types of facilities or departments. These changes could have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of some of our tenants, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and could negatively affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

The Reform Law represented a major shift in the U.S. healthcare industry by, among other things, allowing millions of formerly uninsured individuals to obtain health insurance coverage and by significantly expanding Medicaid. The Reform Law, however, remains controversial, and there are continuingThough efforts to repeal and replace the Reform Law. InLaw may continue in the eventfuture, we believe that certain trends, including, but not limited to, various quality and reimbursement initiatives discussed above, will continue irrespective of whether the Reform Law is repealed thisor replaced, we cannot predict with any certainty or precision what effect a repeal or replacement law would have on the operations of our tenants, but it could have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of some or all of our tenants.

The U.S. healthcare industry is heavily regulatedSignificant regulation and loss of licensure or certification or failure to obtain licensure or certification could negatively impact our tenants' financial condition and results of operations.operations and affect their ability to make payments to us.

The U.S. healthcare industry is highly regulated by federal, state, and local laws (as discussed onpages 10-13) and is directly affected by federal conditions of participation, state licensing requirements, facility inspections, state and federal reimbursement policies, regulations concerning capital and other expenditures, certification requirements and other such laws, regulations, and rules.  As with the U.S. healthcare industry, our tenants in the United Kingdom and Western Europe are also subject in some instances to comparable types of laws, regulations, and rules that affect their ownership and operation of healthcare facilities.  Although our lease and mortgage loan agreements require our tenants/borrowers to comply with applicable laws, and we intend for these facilities to comply with such laws, we do not actively monitor compliance.  Therefore, we cannot offer any assurance that our tenants/borrowers will be found to be in compliance with such, as the same may ultimately be implemented or interpreted.  

We are aware of various federal and state inquiries, investigations, and other proceedings currently affecting several of our tenants and would expect such governmental compliance and enforcement activities to be ongoing at any given time with respect to one or more of our tenants, either on a confidential or public basis. As discussed in further detail below, anAn adverse result to our tenantstenant/borrower in one or more such governmental proceedings may have a material adverse effect on the relevant tenant’stheir operations and financial condition and on its ability to make required lease and/or mortgageloan payments to us. In instances where we have an equity investment in our tenants’ operations,the operator, in addition to the effect on these tenants’/borrowers’ ability to meet their financial obligation to us, our ownership and investment interests may also be negatively impacted.

LicensedIn the U.S., licensed health care facilities must comply with minimum health and safety standards and are subject to survey and inspection by state and federal agencies and their agents or affiliates, including CMS, the Joint Commission, and state departments of health. CMS develops Conditions of Participation and Conditions for Coverage that health care organizations must meet in order to begin and continue participating in the Medicare

Index to Financial Statements

and Medicaid programs and receive payment under such programs. These minimum health and safety standards are aimed at improving quality and protecting the health and safety of beneficiaries, and there are several common criteria that exist across health entities. The failure to comply with any of these standards could jeopardize a healthcare organization’s Medicare certification and, in turn, itsit’s right to receive payment under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Further, many hospitals and other institutional providers in the U.S. are accredited by accrediting agencies such as the Joint Commission, a national healthcare accrediting organization. The Joint Commission was created to accredit healthcare organizations that meet its minimum health and safety standards. A national accrediting organization, such as the Joint Commission, enforces standards that meet or exceed such requirements. Surveyors for the Joint Commission, prior to the opening of a facility and approximately every three years thereafter, conduct on site surveys of facilities for compliance with a multitude of patient safety, treatment, and administrative requirements. Facilities may lose accreditation for failure to meet such requirements, which in turn may result in the loss of license or certification including under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. For example, a facility may lose accreditation for failing to maintain proper medication in the operating room to treat potentially fatal reactions to anesthesia or for failure to maintain safe and sanitary medical equipment.

Finally, healthcare facility reimbursement practices and quality of care issues may result in loss of license or certification. For instance, the practice of “upcoding,” whereby services are billed for higher procedure codes than were actually performed, may lead to the revocation of a hospital’s license.license or the imposition of penalties. An event involving poor quality of care, such as that which leads to the serious injury or death of a patient, may also result in loss of license or certification. Prime continues certain litigation against the Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”) relating to allegations that SEIU and other defendants conspired to drive Prime out of certain markets, primarily by lobbying for governmental action relating to alleged fraudulent billing practices. Prime has addressed these fraudulent billing practice allegations publicly and has provided clinical and other data to us refuting these allegations. Prime has also informed us that SEIU regularly attempts to organize certain Prime employees. Prime has also disclosed a complaint filed against it by the U.S. Department of Justice relating to alleged improper admitting practices. Prime has addressed this complaint publicly and denied the allegations.

The failure of any tenanttenant/borrower to comply with such laws, requirements, and regulations resulting in a loss of its license would affect its ability to continue its operation of the facility and would adversely affect the tenant’sits ability to make lease and/or principal and interestloan payments to us. This, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and could negatively affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. In instances where we have an equity investment in our tenants’ operations,the operator, in addition to the effects on these tenants’/borowers’ ability to meet their financial obligations to us, our ownership and investment interests would be negatively impacted.

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In addition, establishment of healthcare facilities and transfers of operations of healthcare facilities in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom and Western Europe are typically subject to regulatory approvals, not required for establishment, or transfers, of other types of commercial operations and real estate including, but not limited to,such as state certificate of need laws.laws in the U.S. Restrictions and delays in transferring the operations of healthcare facilities, in obtaining new third-party payor contracts, including Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements, and in receiving licensure and certification approval from appropriate state and federal agencies by new tenants, may affect our ability to terminate lease agreements, remove tenants that violate lease terms, and replace existing tenants with new tenants. Furthermore, these matters may affect a new tenant’stenant’s/borrower’s ability to obtain reimbursement for services rendered, which could adversely affect their ability to pay rent to usmake lease and/or loan payments to pay principal and interest on their loans from us. In instances where we have an equity investment in our tenants’ operations,the operator, in addition to the effect on these tenants’/borrowers’ ability to meet their financial obligations to us, our ownership and investment interests may also be negatively impacted.

Index to Financial Statements

Our tenants are subject to fraud and abuse laws, the violation of which by a tenant may jeopardize the tenant’s ability to make payments to us and adversely affect their profitability.

As noted earlier, in the U.S., the federal government and numerous state governments have passed laws and regulations that attempt to eliminate healthcare fraud and abuse by prohibiting business arrangements that induce patient referrals or the ordering of specific ancillary services. In addition, federal and state governments continue to investigate and conduct enforcement activity to detect and eliminate fraud and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. It is anticipated that theThe trend toward increased investigation and enforcement activity in the areas of fraud and abuse and patient self-referrals willto detect and eliminate fraud and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs is likely to continue in future years. ViolationsAs described above, the penalties for violations of these laws can be substantial and may result in the imposition of criminal and civil penalties, including possible exclusion from federal and state healthcare programs. Imposition of any of these penalties upon any of our tenants could jeopardize a tenant’s ability to operate a facility or to make lease and/or loan payments, thereby potentially adversely affecting us. In instances where we have an equity investment in our tenants’ operations, in addition to the effect on the tenants’ ability to meet their financial obligations to us, our ownership and investment interests may also be negatively impacted.

Some of our tenants have accepted, and prospective tenants may accept, an assignment of the previous operator’s Medicare provider agreement.agreement typically in the case of the acquisition of such previous operator's facility. Such operators and othernew-operator tenants that take assignment of Medicare provider agreements might be subject to liability for federal or state regulatory, civil, and criminal investigations of the previous owner’s operations and claims submissions. While we conduct due diligence in connection with the acquisition of such facilities, theseThese types of issues may not be discovered prior to purchase.purchase or after our tenants commence operations in our facilities. Adverse decisions, fines, or recoupments might negatively impact our tenants’ financial condition, and in turn their ability to make lease and/or loan payments to us. In instances where we have an equity investment in our tenants’ operations, in addition to the effect on these tenants’ ability to meet their financial obligations to us, our ownership and investment interests may also be negatively impacted.

Certain of our lease arrangements may be subject to laws related to fraud and abuse or physician self-referral laws.self-referrals.

Although no such investment exists today, physicianPhysician investment in our operating partnership or our subsidiaries that own our facilities could subject our lease arrangements to scrutiny under fraud and abuse and physician self-referral laws. Under the Stark Law, and its implementing regulations, if our lease arrangements do not satisfy the requirements of an applicable exception, the ability of our tenants to bill for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries pursuant to referrals from physician investors could be adversely impacted and subject us and our tenants to fines, which could impact our tenants’ ability to make lease andand/or loan payments to us. In instances where we have an equity investment in our tenants’ operations, in addition to the effect on the tenants’ ability to meet their financial obligations to us, our ownership and investment interests may also be negatively impacted.

We Therefore, in all cases, we intend to use our good faith efforts to structure our lease arrangements to comply with these laws; however, if we are unable to do so, this failure may restrict our ability to permit physician investment or, where such physicians do participate, may restrict the types of lease arrangements into which we may enter, including our ability to enter into percentage rent arrangements.laws.

We may be required to incur substantial renovation costs to make certain of our healthcare properties suitable for other operators and tenants.

Healthcare facilities are typically highly customized, subject to healthcare-specific building code requirements, and may not be easily adapted tonon-healthcare-related uses. The improvements generally required to conform a property to healthcare use can be costly and at times tenant-specific. A new or replacement operator or tenant may require different features in a property, depending on that operator’s or tenant’s particular business. If a current operator or tenant is unable to pay rent and/or vacates a property, we may incur substantial expenditures to modify a property before we are able to secure another operator or tenant. Also, if the property needs to be renovated to accommodate multiple operators or tenants, we may incur substantial expenditures before we are able tore-lease the space. These expenditures or renovations may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Index to Financial Statements

State certificate of need laws may adversely affect our development of facilities and the operations of our tenants.

Certain healthcare facilities in which we invest may also be subject to state laws in the U.S. which require regulatory approval in the form of a certificate of need prior to the transfer of a healthcare facility or prior to initiation of certain projects, including, but not limited to, the establishment of new or replacement facilities, the addition of beds, the addition or expansion of services and certain capital expenditures. State certificate of need laws are not uniform throughout the U.S., are subject to change, and may delay

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developments of facilities or acquisitions or certain other transfers of ownership of facilities.facilities including, but limited to, a delay in obtaining approval of a replacement operator for an existing facility. We cannot predict the impact of state certificate of need laws on any of the preceding activities or on the operations of our tenants. Certificate of need laws often materially impact the ability of competitors to enter into the marketplace of our facilities. In addition, in limited circumstances, loss of state licensure or certification or closure of a facility could ultimately result in loss of authority to operate the facility and requirere-licensure or new certificate of need authorization tore-institute operations. As a result, a portion of the value of the facility may be related to the limitation on new competitors. In the event of a change in the certificate of need laws, this value may markedly change.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Pursuant to Maryland law, and our charter and bylaws contain provisions whichthat may prevent or deterhave the effect of deterring changes in management and third-party acquisition proposals, that you may believe to bewhich in your best interest,turn could depress the price of Medical Properties common stock or cause dilution.

Our charter contains ownership limitations that may restrict business combination opportunities, inhibit change of control transactions and reduce the value of our common stock. To qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, no more than 50% in value of our outstanding stock, after taking into account options to acquire stock, may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer persons during the last half of each taxable year. Our charter generally prohibits direct or indirect ownership by any person of more than 9.8% in value or in number, whichever is more restrictive, of outstanding shares of any class or series of our securities, including our common stock. Generally, our common stock owned by affiliated owners will be aggregated for purposes of the ownership limitation. The ownership limitation could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control or other transaction in which holders of common stock might receive a premium for their common stock over the then-current market price or which such holders otherwise might believe to be in their best interests. The ownership limitation provisions also may make our common stock an unsuitable investment vehicle for any person seeking to obtain, either alone or with others as a group, ownership of more than 9.8% of either the value or number of the outstanding shares of our common stock.

Our charter and bylaws contain provisions that may impede third-party acquisition proposals that may be in the best interests of our stockholders.proposals. Our charter and bylaws also provide that our directorsrestrictions on replacing or removing directors. Directors may only be removed by the affirmative vote of the holders oftwo-thirds of our common stock, thatstock. Additionally, stockholders are required to give us advance notice of director nominations and new business to be conducted at our annual meetings of stockholders and that specialnominations. Special meetings of stockholders can only be called by our president, our board of directors or the holders of at least 25% of stock entitled to vote at the meetings. These and other charter and bylaw provisions may delay or prevent a change of control or other transaction in which holders of our common stock might receive a premium for their common stock over the then-current market price or which such holders otherwise might believe to be in their best interests.

Our UPREIT structure may result in conflicts of interest between our stockholders and the holders of our operating partnership units.

We are organized as an umbrella partnership real estate investment trust, “UPREIT”, which means that we hold our assets and conduct substantially all of our operations through an operating limited partnership, and may issue operating partnership units to employees and/or third parties. Persons holding operating partnership units

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would have the right to vote on certain amendments to the partnership agreement of our operating partnership, as well as on certain other matters. Persons holding these voting rights may exercise them in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our stockholders. Circumstances may arise in the future, such as the sale or refinancing of one of our facilities, when the interests of limited partners in our operating partnership conflict with the interests of our stockholders. As the sole member of the general partner of the operating partnership, we have fiduciary duties to the limited partners of the operating partnership that may conflict with fiduciary duties that our officers and directors owe to its stockholders. These conflicts may result in decisions that are not in the best interest of our stockholders.

We rely on information technology in our operations, and any material failure, inadequacy, interruption or security failure of that technology could harm our business.

We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes, including financial transactions and records, and maintaining personal identifying information and tenant and lease data. We purchase or license some of our information technology from vendors, on whom our systems depend. We rely on commercially available systems, software, tools and monitoring to provide security for the processing, transmission and storage of confidential tenant data. Although we have taken steps to protect the security of our information systems and the data maintained in those systems, it is possible that our safety and security measures will not prevent the systems’ improper functioning or the improper access or disclosure of our or our tenant’s information such as in the event of cyber-attacks. Security breaches, including physical or electronicbreak-ins, computer viruses, attacks by hackers and similar breaches, can create system disruptions, shutdowns or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. The risk of security breaches has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attacks have increased. In some cases, it may be difficult to anticipate or immediately detect such incidents and the damage they cause. Any failure to maintain proper function, security and

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availability of our information systems could interrupt our operations, damage our reputation, subject us to liability claims or regulatory penalties and could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in accounting pronouncements could adversely affect our operating results, in addition to the reported financial performance of our tenants.

Uncertainties posed by various initiatives of accounting standard-setting by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”),SEC, which create and interpret applicable accounting standards for U.S. companies (like the new lease accounting standard effective for us starting January 1, 2019), may change the financial accounting and reporting standards or their interpretation and application of these standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. Proposed changes include, but are not limited to, changes in lease accounting, revenue recognition and the adoption of accounting standards likely to require the increased use of “fair-value” measures.

These changes could have a material impact on our reported financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in potentially material restatements of prior period financial statements. Similarly, these changes could have a material impact on our tenants’/borrowers’ reported financial condition or results of operations or could affect our tenants’ preferences regarding leasing real estate.

TAX RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR STATUS AS A REIT

Loss of our tax status as a REIT would have significant adverse consequences to us and the value of our common stock.

We believe that we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and have elected to be taxed as a REIT under the federal income tax laws commencing with our taxable year that began on April 6, 2004, and

Index to Financial Statements

ended on December 31, 2004. The REIT qualification requirements are extremely complex, and interpretations of the federal income tax laws governing qualification as a REIT are limited. Accordingly, there is no assurance that we will be successful in operating so as to qualify as a REIT. At any time, new laws, regulations, interpretations or court decisions may change the federal tax laws relating to, or the federal income tax consequences of, qualification as a REIT. It is possible that future economic, market, legal, tax or other considerations may cause our board of directors to revoke the REIT election, which it may do without stockholder approval.

If we lose or revoke our REIT status, we will face serious tax consequences that will substantially reduce the funds available for distribution because: