Assura sees good progress in Q1; too early to assess Brexit

Primary care property investor and developer Assura said it made “good progress” in the first quarter, completing the acquisition of 30 medical centres for a gross £65.4m with a passing rent roll of £4.1m and a weighted average unexpired lease length of 14.1 years.

It said it has a further pipeline of individual asset acquisitions and developments currently in solicitors' hands worth £105m.

Assura now owns 351 medical centres with a total annualised rent roll of £68.4m compared with £63.8m at 31 March, with growth in the financial year to date driven primarily by acquisitions.

“In addition, we are maximising income through active asset management: the letting of vacant space has been a particular focus in the first quarter with £0.3m in new lettings secured in the period,” Assura said.

“The weighted average annual rent increase was 1.43% on the basis of 32 reviews settled in the quarter, of which open market rents reviews were 1.30%.”

The company said it had seen no direct impact to date from the recent European Union referendum, although it acknowledged that the decision to leave the EU could “create political and economic uncertainty, which could affect investment in primary care infrastructure”.

“However, the need for investment in primary care premises is recognised by the NHS as a priority, as more services are being provided by the primary care sector and there is also an increasing need to meet the health needs of a growing and ageing population,” it added.