Primary care property investor Assura (AGR) dipped 0.7% to 76.8p as it revealed rent collections were ‘in-line with normal patterns’ in the six months to 30 September 2020.
‘Some rents from pharmacy and ancillary services are being paid in monthly instalments along with some short term deferrals. Rental concessions totalling less than £0.1 million have been agreed,’ the company said.
The current annualised rent roll was £113.3 million for the first half, from 576 properties.
The company said 15 developments with a total cost of £77 million were currently on-site and the immediate development pipeline totalling a further £65 million was expected to be on site within 12 months.
At 30 September 2020 net debt stood at £1.07 billion with undrawn facilities of £300 million and cash of £310 million, it added.
REMAINING ACTIVE
Notably the company continued to actively managed the portfolio throughout the six month period despite Covid-19 with £80 million worth of acquisitions, six completed developments and £23 million of disposals.
CEO Jonathan Murphy said: ‘It’s clear that flexible, fit-for-purpose capacity for health services in our communities will be key in the NHS's efforts to address waiting lists and pent-up demand moving through and beyond this winter.
‘Our strong strategic progress across all areas and resilient business model continues to position us well as the NHS’s partner of choice in these uncertain times and beyond.’
Liberum analyst Tom Musson said: ‘The shares trade at a 39% premium to spot NAV which looks optically expensive, but is being supported by the relative safety that a steady and secure 3.7% dividend yield provides in the current market. Structural tailwinds still exist.’
Numis noted: ‘While there is little by the way of new news in this update, it depicts solid progress being made with developments and Assura’s strong positioning in the primary healthcare sector.
‘Assura is well-positioned to deliver high-quality and innovative primary care centres that meet the future requirements of the NHS, structural demand for which has only been accelerated by Covid-19.
‘Primary care centres will be key to the NHS addressing waiting lists and pent-up demand moving through and beyond this winter.’
