Assura has increased profit by 44% and grown its portfolio value to almost £2.8bn.
The primary care investor and developer made a pretax profit of £155.8m for the year to the end of March, up from 2021’s £108.3m. EPRA earnings grew from £75.4m to £86.2m.
Chief executive Jonathan Murphy said: “Assura has delivered another year of significant progress, maintaining its strong financial performance and making a positive contribution to the local communities in which it operates.”
Over the period, Assura spent £271m to add 47 properties to its portfolio, at a yield on cost of 4.6%. The portfolio value now exceeds £2.75bn, a 12% increase from £2.45bn last year. Net rental income rose by 13% to £126.5m.
Murphy added: “With the UK’s healthcare estate lacking the critical buildings and facilities to tackle the growing backlog of treatments following the pandemic, we know the development of modern, integrated and high-quality primary care space is a key enabler in reducing this pressure. Assura is committed to making a significant contribution.”
The Warrington-based REIT’s total development pipeline stands at £522m, with a further 23 asset enhancement projects valued at £18m.
It also continued to recycle capital, with 11 properties sold for above-book-value proceeds of £15m. Some £76m of assets are being held for sale, and it is targeting an acquisition pipeline of 20 properties at a cost of £119m.
The REIT has net debt of £1bn and a loan-to-value ratio of of 36%, with cash and undrawn facilities of £369m.
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