Profits tumble by £36m at healthcare property firm

Healthcare property firm Assura splashed out £108m on 39 properties in the six months leading up to September.

The Warrington based business has bought a further three properties in the last two months for £50m.

Assura published its interim results this morning.

The company’s 6% increase in investments means it now has a portfolio worth £1.8bn.

As a result, there has been a seven per cent increase in rent roll to £97.

Despite the investment there has been a £36m drop in profit before tax to £37.4m. The 49% drop is due to lower revaluation gains.

The firm says it operates in a highly fragmented market and a portfolio of 556 medical centres compared with a total UK market of approximately 9,000 surgery buildings

Jonathan Murphy, chief executive, said: “We have continued to deliver on our investment plan in the first half of the year, which has seen us grow our portfolio, refresh our pipeline of acquisition and development opportunities, strengthen our balance sheet and achieve an investment grade rating of A-.

“The performance of the business and our confidence in the outlook is reflected in our decision to raise the dividend by 5 per cent.”