Multiple acquisitions leads Target Healthcare REIT to increased profits

Property investment firm Target Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust announced on Wednesday that its "patient and disciplined" placing of £79.9m of shareholder capital led to eight transactions throughout the financial year ended 30 June, with a further two investments being completed in the first quarter of 2018.

The total IFRS profit for business during the year was £19.1m, a £7.4m year-on-year uptick as Target, which specialises in aged care facilities, raised the value of its portfolio from £210.7m to £282m over the twelve-month period while increasing passing rent to £20.3m from its £15.5m figure at the same time in the prior year.

Total return on net asset value (NAV) did slip slightly, dropping from 9.3% in 2016 to 7.8% over the period.

Dividend cover jumped from 72% to 77% as Target declared a dividend of 6.28p, a 0.10p gain on 2016's figures.

EPRA earnings per share saw a small bump from 4.7p to 4.8p as the company bumped its NAV per share to 101.9p from 100.6p.

Malcolm Naish, chairman of the group, said "Target Healthcare REIT has continued to assemble a portfolio of UK care homes capable of delivering stable rental returns through diversification by tenant, location, service and resident-choice. We retain a conviction that placing long-term investment capital in purpose-built properties which offer suitably modern and well-equipped environments for residents and their carers, is the right thing to do."

As of 1330 BST, shares had risen 1.71% to 119.25p.