New CEO for Assura
ASSURA Group has appointed British Land’s former finance director Graham Roberts as its new CEO.
Mr Roberts served almost ten years with British Land and had previously been senior partner for real estate at Arthur Andersen.
He replaces Nigel Rawlings, who had been with the firm since its inception and had been CEO since March 2010.
Assura also announced this morning that it had completed 99 rent reviews since the start of if its financial year on April 1, and had achieved an £806,000 increase in rents on existing properties – or a 3.5% weighted increase in annual rents.
The firm also said that its development pipeline remains strong and is expected to be a key contributor to rental income growth in the near term.
Assura also announced that it is planning to introduce a progressive dividend policy, with dividends being paid on a quarterly basis. An initial quarterly payout of 0.285p in July 2012 should provide an anticipated annualised dividend of at least 1.14p per share.
Chairman Simon Laffin said: “To have attracted such an experienced and well-respected real estate professional as Graham Roberts to become our new CEO represents another significant step forward in Assura’s continued development.
“Since I became chairman six months ago, we have reaffirmed our core property strategy, secured long term financing, cleared out the significant legacy derivative problem, launched a successful rights issue and strengthened the board, culminating in today’s appointment.
“As a result, we now have the confidence to declare our intention to resume dividend payments and announce a progressive dividend policy.
“I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support and I look forward to working with Graham Roberts, our new chief executive, as we continue to build on the recent positive momentum achieved.
“I would like to thank Nigel Rawlings for the wholehearted commitment, dedication and diligence that he has shown to Assura over the last eight years. The board wishes him well for the future.”
