Assura PLC Pricing of GBP300m Social Bond (3846Y)
September 08 2020 - 10:19AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAGR
RNS Number : 3846Y
Assura PLC
08 September 2020
8 September 2020
Assura plc
Successful pricing of GBP300 million senior unsecured Social
Bond
Assura plc ("Assura") is pleased to announce the pricing of its
first Social Bond, a Sterling-denominated senior unsecured bond
(the "Social Bond" or the "Bond") in an amount of GBP300 million
with a tenor of 10 years. This follows a series of UK fixed income
investor meetings which generated strong institutional demand.
The Bond will bear interest at a rate of 1.5 per cent per annum.
The Bond will be issued by Assura Financing plc and guaranteed by
Assura and a number of the Assura group's subsidiaries.
Following the issuance of the Bond, Assura's weighted average
debt maturity will increase from 6.8 years to 7.8 years and the pro
forma weighted average cost of debt will reduce to 2.69%.
This Social Bond is the first issued under the Assura Social
Finance Framework and the proceeds will be used to fund or
refinance eligible social projects, specifically the acquisition,
development or refurbishment of publicly accessible primary care
and community healthcare centres.
Fitch Ratings Limited currently assigns Assura an investment
grade rating of A- (stable outlook) and is expected to assign the
Bond an investment grade rating of A-.
Barclays Bank PLC, HSBC Bank plc and Banco Santander, S.A. acted
as joint active bookrunners. NatWest Group plc acted as a passive
bookrunner. Assura was advised on the bond and credit rating by
Rothschild & Co.
Jayne Cottam, Chief Financial Officer, commented:
"Our ambition is to become the UK's number one listed property
business for social impact. The issuance of our first Social Bond
demonstrates our commitment to contributing to the communities in
which we operate and will be used to support our continued
investment in providing more fit-for-purpose primary and community
healthcare centres.
"We launched our SixbySix social impact strategy earlier this
year, to put our purpose - creating outstanding spaces for health
services in our communities - at the centre of everything we do.
The strong level of bond investor support leaves us well positioned
to deliver against our acquisition and development pipeline, as
well as SixbySix."
- Ends -
For more information, please contact:
Assura plc Tel: 01925 420680
Jayne Cottam, CFO E mail: Investor@assura.co.uk
David Purcell, Head of Financial
Reporting
Finsbury Tel: 0207 251 3801
Gordon Simpson Email: Assura@Finsbury.com
James Thompson
Notes to Editors
Assura plc, a constituent of the FTSE 250 and the EPRA* indices,
is a UK REIT and long-term investor in and developer of primary
care property. The company, headquartered in Warrington, works with
GPs, health professionals and the NHS to create outstanding spaces
for health services in our communities. At 31 March 2020, Assura's
property portfolio was valued at GBP2,139 million.
Further information is available at www.assuraplc.com
*EPRA is a registered trademark of the European Public Real
Estate Association.
Assura plc LEI code: 21380026T19N2Y52XF72
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END
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