Assura has raised £185m through the successful placing of over 240 million new ordinary shares in a bid to deliver new primary care developments through the Covid-19 outbreak.
The 77p per share placing represents a discount of almost 8% on the closing price on 6 April and represents roughly 10% of issued ordinary share capital immediately prior to the placing.
The specialist healthcare REIT said the placing would enable it to progress its immediate £165m pipeline and source new acquisition and development opportunities while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
CEO Jonathan Murphy said: ‘The importance of the NHS to society has never been more apparent than it is now in dealing with Covid-19. Assura has been doing all we can to support the health service and our GP partners where possible, such as assisting occupiers to optimise the use of space in their buildings and offering any vacant space to the NHS.’
Following deployment of the proceeds, Assura will have headroom of approximately £250m to invest in further property additions before reaching LTV of 40%.
‘Our predictable business model demonstrates our resilience in these uncertain times with no change to the current business plan, rent collection in line with normal patterns, a strong WAULT of 11.6 years and a consistent dividend policy. Our strong financial position allows us to deliver on our ongoing growth trajectory in order to continue to provide the NHS with modern, fit for purpose buildings,’ added Murphy.
The company has also announced the establishment of a £2.5m ‘Assura Community Fund’, which will support charitable projects within a 15-mile radius of Assura-owned healthcare buildings.
Stifel and JP Morgan Cazenove acted as joint bookrunners in respect of the placing.
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