Primary Health Properties

Overview
Price performance
Financials
Research
Thematics

Primary Health Properties (PHP) is a long-term investor in primary healthcare property in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Assets are mainly long-let to GPs and the NHS or the HSE, organisations backed by the UK and Irish governments respectively.

The primary health property market is driven by supportive demographic trends and the need to modernise health provision, rather than the economy. PHP’s leases are long and substantially upward-only, 89% backed directly or indirectly by government bodies.

Latest Insights

Real Estate |
Update

05.03.24

Primary Health Properties — Stability with income growth

Real Estate |
Flash note

13.09.23

Primary Health Properties — Strategic and accretive Irish expansion

Real Estate |
Update

10.08.23

Primary Health Properties — Sustaining dividend growth

Real Estate |
Update

11.08.22

Primary Health Properties — Rental growth further accelerates

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Sector

Real Estate

Equity Analyst

Martyn King

Director, Financials

Key Management

Harry Hyman

CEO
Richard Howell

CFO
Steven Owen

Chairman

Balance Sheet

Forecast net cash (£m)

1268.9

Forecast gearing ratio (%)

N/A

Share Price Performance

Price Performance
%	1M	3M	12M
Actual	(1.9)	(4.0)	(2.4)
Relative	(0.6)	(7.4)	(11.8)
52 week high/low	106.3p/85.5p

Financials

Interim results for the six months to 30 June will be released on 24 July. FY23 EPS of 6.8p fully covered DPS of 6.7p (+3.1%). FY24 DPS is being paid at a rate of 1.725p, or an annualised 6.9p (+3.0%), PHP’s 28th year of unbroken dividend growth. FY23 earnings growth was mainly driven by strong organic rental growth from rent reviews and asset management projects, plus income arising from the acquisition of Axis. With building cost inflation yet to be reflected in rent levels, PHP is confident of further rental growth, while 97% of end-FY23 debt costs were fixed/hedged and the company’s cost ratio of 10.7% is one of the lowest in the UK REIT sector. Property valuations have been significantly more robust than the wider property sector, supported by rental growth and the defensive nature of the sector. As a result, FY23 adjusted NTA fell by just 4.1% to 108.0p/share and, adjusting for dividends, the accounting total return was 1.9%.