Assura buys £500m healthcare portfolio

Assura has agreed a deal with Northwest Healthcare Properties to buy its UK private hospital portfolio for £500m. The acquisition of the 14 hospitals is being funded through a mix of cash and shares. Assura said it was buying the assets as it believes there is significant opportunity in the structurally-supported private hospital market, with strong growth potential and attractive investment characteristics. The acquisition significantly accelerates Assura’s strategy to diversify into new sectors at scale by adding high-quality, fully operational assets in the private market, spread across the UK, at an attractive price. The 14 assets provide an average of 36 registered beds per hospital and have a  WAULT of 26 years. The portfolio provides a rent roll of £29.4m per annum. Chief executive Jonathan Murphy said: “The acquisition of Northwest’s high-quality UK private hospital portfolio accelerates the delivery of our broader healthcare strategy, securing increased exposure to the structurally supported private healthcare market as we continue to diversify our offering in line with UK healthcare demands.” He added: “The acquired portfolio – with long average lease length of 26 years and index-linked rent reviews – complements our existing assets and will benefit from our sector relationships, development and asset enhancement capabilities as the leading listed UK healthcare property investor and developer.”