Assura to buy Northwest Healthcare Properties UK portfolio for £500m

(Sharecast News) - Assura said it had signed a deal with Northwest Healthcare Properties to buy its UK private hospital portfolio for £500m. The company on Thursday said it would give £100m in shares subject to a six-month lock-in agreement, £266m of debt, which has been refinanced through a new term loan and £134m using £54 million of cash and drawing down £80 million from the group's existing revolving credit facility.

Assura said there was "significant opportunity in the structurally-supported private hospital market with strong growth potential and attractive investment characteristics".

The portfolio is made up of 14 fully operational private hospitals with an average of 36 registered beds per hospital, it added.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com