Primary Health Properties is expected to follow this week’s retail bond issue with further fundraisings “in the fullness of time”.
The primary healthcare property REIT’s managing director, Harry Hyman, said that depending on the success of the current attempt to raise up to £75m from the sale of bonds to private investors, further retail bond issues would follow.
“My aim is to grow PHP to a £1bn business, so we need access to more equity, bank and bond finance,” he said.
PHP, which has a £514m portfolio of predominantly GP surgeries, is thought to be the first UK REIT to issue a retail bond.
On Tuesday it started selling seven-year bonds with a 5.375% fixed rate of interest, which will be paid twice yearly in January and July until 2019. The offer closes on 16 July.
Hyman said that the bonds, which will be listed on the London Stock Exchange and traded on the open market, offered access to longer funding than the company could get from banks.
He added that although alternative lenders such as insurers provided debt for up to 15 years, the amortisation profile of these facilities was less attractive to the company.
