Assura eyes regional acquisitions

The Warrington-based healthcare property firm is continuing to seek opportunities for investment in the North West to boost its pipeline in 2020.

Assura is on site building a £2.1m medical centre at Trafford Housing Trust’s £7m Timperley Library redevelopment, which it has committed to purchase once the wider scheme completes this autumn.

London Stock Exchange-listed Assura owns 56 buildings in the North West valued at £323m as of 30 September 2019. While it has no ‘active’ development plans for the region as yet, it is known to continue to see acquisition and investment opportunities in the North West.

The company’s immediate UK pipeline for the third quarter of 2019 increased to £90m from £72m as of 31 September, bolstered by six acquisitions totalling £31.1m, according to the latest trading update for the quarter ending 31 December. The total pipeline including on-site development rose to £252m from £206m in the previous quarter.

The company’s immediate acquisitions pipeline also increased, to £96m from £65m.

Assura was on site with 13 schemes with a total development cost of £66m as of 31 December. The company also made four disposals totalling £1m, according to the trading update on Monday.

Gross debt stood at £787m with £280m of undrawn facilities. Assura’s portfolio comprises 563 healthcare properties across the UK.

Jonathan Murphy, chief executive of Assura, said: “[We continued] to make strong progress in the third quarter. We expanded our market-leading portfolio with the acquisition of six assets and completed our third development of the year in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.

“We also grew our immediate pipeline of acquisition and development opportunities, reinforcing what was already our strongest in 10 years, to £252m including 14 developments on site.

“With the new Government enshrining in law increased funding for the NHS and taking forward the Health Infrastructure Plan, better primary care facilities for patients, staff and services are at the heart of the agenda.”