24 October
2024
Assura plc
Disposal of 12 assets for
£25m and update on disposal programme
Assura plc ("Assura"), the UK's
leading diversified healthcare REIT is pleased to announce the
completion of the disposal of 12 assets for cash proceeds of £25
million. The sale price is in line with the current book value of
the assets and the proceeds will enable a partial repayment of the
Group's revolving credit facility.
Disposal programme update
The Company continues to make strong
progress on the disposals programme announced in August 2024
following the £500 million private hospital portfolio
acquisition.
The Company is in discussions on
further tranches of asset disposals with an aggregate value of
approximately £110 million, being a mixture of both portfolio
disposals and assets for transfer into our previously announced
joint venture partnership.
In addition, a further pipeline of
27 assets with an aggregate value of approximately £90 million that
meet the Company's disposal criteria has been identified and
preliminary work on the possible disposal of these assets has
commenced.
As such, the Company remains on
track with its target to reduce net debt to EBITDA below 9 times
and LTV below 45% over the next 18 - 24 months. A further
update on the disposals programme will be provided at our half-year
results presentation on 14 November 2024.
Jonathan Murphy, CEO, said:
"I am pleased that we have completed
the portfolio sale of 12 assets for £25 million in line with book
value and illustrating the attraction of our underlying asset
class.
"Our £500 million private hospital
portfolio acquisition in August 2024 was an important strategic
step for Assura becoming a diversified healthcare REIT capitalising
on the significant opportunity in the structurally-supported
private hospital market. The progress on our disposal programme is
an important next step in delivering our commitment to reduce
leverage following the acquisition."
- Ends
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For more information, please
contact:
|
Assura plc
David Purcell, Investor Relations Director
|
Tel: 0161 515
2043
Email: Investor@assura.co.uk
|
|
FGS Global
Gordon Simpson
Grace Whelan
|
Tel: 0207 251 3801
Email: Assura@fgsglobal.com
|
Notes to
Editors
Assura plc is the UK's leading
diversified healthcare REIT. Assura enables better health outcomes
through its portfolio of more than 600 healthcare buildings, from
which over six million patients are served.
A UK REIT based in Altrincham,
Assura is a constituent of the FTSE 250 and the EPRA* indices. As
at 31 March 2024, Assura's portfolio was valued at £2.7 billion and
has a strong track record of growing financial returns and
dividends for shareholders.
At Assura, we BUILD for health,
having developed over 100 new healthcare buildings in our history,
and at the heart of our strategy sits The Bigger Picture; Healthy
Environment (E), Healthy Communities (S), Healthy Business
(G).
Further information is available
at www.assuraplc.com
*EPRA is a
registered trademark of the European Public Real Estate
Association