Value enhancing investment activity
Assura continued to make good progress over the last 6 months, completing the acquisition of 75 medical centres for a gross consideration of £154 million with an aggregate passing rent roll of £7.7 million and a weighted average unexpired lease length of 12.7 years. This acceleration in the rate of our investment partly reflects the successful completion of a small number of portfolio transactions as well as the Company's ongoing progress in executing and refreshing its pipeline of individual investment opportunities.
In addition, three developments were completed with a valuation of £10.8 million and a passing rent of £0.5 million.
The Company continues to see further opportunities for growth and retains a strong pipeline of future acquisitions and developments.
Rental income increased
Assura now owns 475 medical centres with a total annualised rent roll of £83 million (31 March 2017: £74.4 million), with rental growth in the financial year to date driven primarily by acquisitions.
The weighted average annual rent increase was 1.81% based on 88 reviews settled in the first half, of which the average annual rent increase derived from open market rent reviews was 0.83%.
Strong financial position
On 20 June 2017, the Company raised £98 million gross of expenses from an equity placing of approximately 164 million ordinary shares.
As at 30 September 2017, Assura's borrowings stood at £591.7 million, with a weighted average cost of debt of 3.78% (31 March 2017 4.06%) and a weighted average debt maturity of 7.9 years. At the same date, Assura's proforma net loan to value ratio was 37%.
Jonathan Murphy, CEO, commented:
“The pace in converting potential investment opportunities into acquisitions has been ahead of our expectations in the first half. The growth of our portfolio allows us to continue to build on our leading position in the sector and further benefit from increased economies of scale while also maintaining a sound balance sheet. There is strong support across the UK political spectrum for more investments in modern primary care premises, and Assura is well placed to deliver this in a market that is in critical need of financial support”.