Latest news with #PrimaryHealthProperties
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
KKR's 10-Month Pursuit of UK Landlord Set for Final Showdown
About 10 months after KKR & Co. first came knocking, the fate of the UK's largest publicly traded healthcare landlord is about to be decided, with the outcome on a knife edge and implications that could extend far beyond a single takeover battle. Shareholders of Assura Plc have until August 12 to decide between the much sweetened cash offer from a re-jigged consortium that now includes Stonepeak Partners alongside KKR, or else follow management's recommendation to accept the cash and share bid from rival landlord Primary Health Properties Plc.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
UK's Assura snubs KKR takevoer bid in support of competing PHP offer
LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - British healthcare real estate investor Assura (AGRP.L), opens new tab said on Friday that it maintains its support for a takeover bid by Primary Health Properties(PHP.L), opens new tab despite rival suitor KKR urging it to back its competing offer. Assura said it was urging its shareholders to vote in favour of PHP's $2.4 billion acquisition offer over the KKR-led bid with Stonepeak Partners. KKR had said earlier in the day that it met with Assura's board in recent days to lobby in favour of its own cash takeover offer. The U.S.-based private equity firm and PHP were locked in a months-long battle for Assura before its board backed PHP's higher bid in June. KKR said a number of factors had since changed, including a decline in the share price of both companies, which has in turn raised the premium of its own cash offer. PHP in a separate statement welcomed Assura's reaffirmation of support for its bid. Britain's competition regulator also said on Friday it was looking into a possible probe into the PHP and Assura deal if it goes through.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
KKR urges UK's Assura board to back its takeover bid over PHP offer
LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Private equity fund KKR has urged the board of British healthcare real estate investor Assura (AGRP.L), opens new tab to back its takeover bid and withdraw its support for a rival offer from Primary Health Properties (PHP.L), opens new tab. KKR, which is leading the bid with Stonepeak Partners, said in a statement on Friday it had met with the board of Assura in recent days to lobby for its own cash takeover of the company after Assura backed an offer from London-listed PHP in June. The U.S.-based private equity firm and PHP were locked in a takeover battle for Assura for months before Assura's board backed PHP's higher $2.4 billion bid in June. KKR said a number of factors had changed since Assura decided to back PHP's offer, including a decline in the share price of both companies which has raised the premium of its own cash offer.
IOL News
24-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Primary Health Properties delivers robust interims amid rental growth, Irish acquisition
Primary Health Properties (PHP) saw interim earnings grow. Image: Independent Media Primary Health Properties (PHP), a leading investor in modern healthcare properties in the UK and Ireland, released its interim results for the six months to June 30, 2025, which showed its earnings grew amid an increase in rental income across its portfolio and after its Irish acquisition. PHP is London listed and secondary listed on the JSE. Net rental income increased by 3.1% to £78.6 million (R1.4 billion). Adjusted earnings per share increased by 2.3% to 3.54 pence, headline earnings per share decreased by 5.9% % to 3.2 pence, earnings per share increased to 4.4 pence, while dividends per share increased by 2.9% to 3.55 pence. PHP's adjusted earnings increased by 2.2% to £47.3m in the reporting period, driven by organic rental growth from rent reviews and asset management projects, plus the acquisition of Laya Healthcare facility in February 2025. PHP investment property portfolio valuation increased to £2.81bn from £2.75bn in December 2024. The portfolio's metrics continue to reflect the group's secure, long-term and predictable income stream with occupancy at 99.1%. PHP said there was a pipeline of 43 asset management projects and lease regears planned over next two to three years, highlighting the improving rental growth outlook with the current weighted average rent of £195 per square meter (psm) due to increase by around 15% to £223psm post completion providing important evidence for future rent review settlements across the wider portfolio Its acquisition of Laya Healthcare facility, Cork, Ireland for €22 million / £18.2m delivered an accretive earnings yield of 7.1%. The portfolio in Ireland now comprises 22 assets, valued at £293m. The portfolio in Ireland represents 10% (December 31, 2024: 9%) of the total portfolio and Ireland continues to represent a core part of the group's strategy and preferred area of future growth Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading There was significant liquidity headroom with cash and collateralised undrawn loan facilities totaling £107.3m from £270.9m in December 31, 2024 after capital commitments and repayment of the £150m convertible bond post period end on July 15, 2025. Mark Davies, the CEO of PHP, said, 'At a pivotal time for our sector, PHP has delivered a strong operational and financial performance driven by rental growth across our portfolio, a value-accretive acquisition in Ireland, valuation gains and another period of dividend growth." He said the improving rental growth outlook and a stabilisation of our property yields at 5.25% signal that the group had moved through a key inflexion point in the property cycle with a very encouraging outlook ahead. 'The 10-year Health Plan which was published on 3 July 2025 is clearly positive for PHP. We welcome the Government's commitment to strengthening the NHS, particularly its emphasis on shifting more services to modern primary care facilities embedded in local communities. This plays directly to our strengths and our long-standing partnerships across the NHS give us a strong foundation to support this transition and deliver value to our shareholders," he said. Talking about the recent takeover offer, he said PHP continues to believe in the compelling strategic and financial rationale for the recommended combination with Assura plc, saying that the transaction is expected to be earnings accretive for both sets of shareholders. PHP had secured strong support for the transaction from PHP shareholders at its general meeting on July 12 with over 99% of voting shareholders approving the proposed combination. Davies said this is a clear endorsement of the company's ability to deliver a financially beneficial transaction that is strategically valuable, supported by an expected strong investment grade credit rating that will deliver future value to shareholders and underpin the droup's progressive dividend policy. 'Since the announcement of the Assura plc recommendation, we've continued discussions with third party investors on forming a joint venture, which is expected to include the private hospital portfolio, as part of our deleveraging strategy. Conversations are ongoing with a range of highly- credible investors and we remain confident in our ability to conclude a transaction in a timely manner post completion," he said. BUSINESS REPORT
Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Times
PHP on target for 29th straight year of dividend growth
One of Britain's largest NHS landlords is heading for its 29th consecutive year of dividend growth, underpinned by rising rents and the recovering valuations of its buildings. Primary Health Properties also expects to benefit from the government's recently announced ten-year health plan, which it said is 'clearly positive'. Part of the plan is to shift more services into the community and the healthcare centres of which PHP owns more than 500 around the UK. 'It's costing [the government] £500 now for every patient going into hospital, but if that patient is in primary care, it's £40 to £50. It's no wonder they want to push outpatient services into the community,' Mark Davies, chief executive of PHP, said. 'They want to do that in the next ten years but they can't do that from the existing estate. We're well placed to work alongside government and deliver these neighbourhood health centres in communities that we're already invested in.' The consensus in the industry is that the shortage of healthcare facilities in the UK will only worsen as the population grows ever larger and people live longer. Landlords, including PHP, have slowed their development programmes or stopped them completely as rents have failed to keep up with inflation, making new sites economically unviable. Rents, though, are rising. Following a number of reviews so far this year, PHP generated net rental income of £78.6 million between January and the end of June: 3.1 per cent above the £76.2 million it generated in the same period of 2024. 'London is definitely leading the charge in terms of [getting to] that rental level we need to enable new developments,' Davies, 50, said. 'But we are now looking at some opportunities across the country that weren't on the table in February [when PHP published its annual results]. It's a reflection of the change of government and an absolute commitment to reduce waiting lists.' Commercial property valuations, after a tough couple of years, are beginning to improve. The value of PHP's property portfolio rose 0.7 per cent to £2.81 billion in the first six months of this year, marking its first increase since 2020. • PHP adds £27m dividend to its bid to merge with Assura PHP has already paid out 3.55p per share in dividends in 2025 and the next quarterly dividend of 1.775p per share will be paid on August 15. Analysts expect it to pay 7p per share in total this year, slightly above the 6.9p it distributed in 2024. As such, 2025 is on course to be the 29th year in a row that PHP has lifted its dividend. 'It's our job to make sure we keep this progressive dividend policy that we've had in place for a long, long time now,' Davies said. PHP struck a £1.7 billion deal last month to merge with its bigger peer, Assura, which is also being circled by US private equity firms. Davies has used the prospect of higher dividends and improving rents and valuations as reasons that Assura shareholders should take his deal and retain exposure to the healthcare property sector. 'That has been our pitch: this is not the time to be selling out,' he said. • NHS landlord Primary Health steps up its battle for rival Assura Bjorn Zietsman, a property industry analyst at Panmure Liberum, said the latest trading update 'reinforces the strategic and financial rationale for PHP's offer for Assura'. PHP shares rose ¼p, or 0.3 per cent, to 96¾p.
