Growth continues for care sector investor

PRIMARY care property investor and developer Assura said it has made further good progress with “significant” investments after what it called a period of “intense” activity.

For the period from 1 April to 20 July, the Warrington-based company completed the acquisition of 33 medical centres for a total consideration of £52.9m with a passing rent of £3.2m and a weighted average unexpired lease length of 16.1 years.

In addition to these acquisitions, Assura said it has a pipeline of individual asset acquisitions and developments currently in solicitors’ hands of £48m, while further development opportunities in excess of £50m are dependent on NHS authorisations.

The group said: “We continue to see excellent risk adjusted returns in primary care real estate. There are positive signs that the importance of fresh investment in primary care infrastructure is now widely recognised, and that the NHS is looking to address this. The launch of the £1bn Primary Care Infrastructure Fund, the Five Year Forward View and The Better Health for London report all recognise the role investment in primary care property needs to play in improving efficiencies and health outcomes for the NHS.”

Graham Roberts, chief executive, said: “This has been another period of intense activity for Assura as we continue to build scale in primary care property, which will continue to drive our progressive dividend policy. Importantly, we see opportunities to drive further profitable growth ahead. There are also encouraging signs that the approval of primary care developments is at last receiving priority. Whilst there is a lead time between initiation and completion, we look forward to seeing developments return as a significant contributor to growth in the future, which will provide additional returns to our shareholders over time.”