Assura, the UK-based London Stock Exchange (LSE) listed diversified healthcare REIT, plans a secondary listing on the JSE on November 21.
Assura said in a statement yesterday that the secondary listing offers a range of benefits, including the provision of a new potential pool of capital to fund the company’s growth.
The company sees many more opportunities in providing critical healthcare infrastructure. The new listing would also broaden Assura’s shareholder base with new South African investors, the company said in a statement.
It would also increase liquidity for shareholders and diversify the shareholder base, positioning it for future growth.
The listing was in terms of the JSE’s fast-track listing process, which was introduced in 2014 for companies seeking a secondary listing in South Africa.
The process was designed to make it easier for companies already listed on an “accredited exchange”, such as the LSE, to access the South African capital markets in a much shorter time frame.
Assura would retain its primary listing on the LSE, and shares traded on the JSE will be fully fungible with those on the LSE.
Separately, Assura announced a strong financial performance for the six months to September 30, 2024, yesterday.
It said it would likely have a market capitalisation of about £1.3 billion (approximately R30 billion) on the listing date.
Assura is a UK diversified healthcare REIT based in Altrincham, caring for more than 600 healthcare buildings, from which over 6 million patients are served.
The group is a constituent of the FTSE 250 and the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) indices, and as of September 30, 2024, its portfolio was valued at £3.2bn with a strong track record of growing financial returns and dividends for shareholders.
The company’s first medical property investments were 19 primary care buildings across the UK. In subsequent years, key centres were opened across the UK, including Waters Green Medical Centre in Macclesfield and Eagle Bridge Health and Wellbeing Centre in Cheshire.
The company’s buildings support the trend of moving a greater range of services out of hospitals into a community setting, and recent areas of strategic expansion have included diagnostic treatment centres for NHS Trusts (NHS is the UK’s publicly funded healthcare system), specialist treatment centres for private providers including Ramsay Healthcare, Genesis CancerCare, and its first properties in Ireland.
In May 2024, Assura and Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) announced a new £250 million 20:80 joint venture to support investment into essential NHS community healthcare buildings, which would help to address the current backlog of patients waiting for care.
In August, Assura agreed with Northwest Healthcare Properties to acquire its UK Private Hospital Portfolio, comprising 14 assets, for £500m.
In the six months to September 30, Assura’s 625 properties generated an annualised rent roll of £179.1m.
The acquisition of 14 private hospitals for £500m saw day one rental income of £29.4m. Three developments were completed with a combined spend of £46m.
Assura recently completed the disposal of 12 assets for cash proceeds of £25m and is currently on-site with five developments with a total cost of £44m and £27m remaining to be spent.
BUSINESS REPORT