Assura PLC - investor in and developer of primary care properties in UK - Announce pricing of its first sustainability bond, in an amount of GBP300 million with a tenor of 12 years. This follows a series of UK fixed income investor meetings which generated strong institutional demand, it notes.
The bond will bear interest at a rate of 1.625% 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 8.0 years to 8.7 years and the pro forma weighted average cost of debt will reduce to 2.3%.
Chief Financial Officer Jayne Cottam commented: "This is our first Sustainability Bond, following on from the Social Bond we issued in 2020, and has been met with a strong level of support from bond investors.
"We want to make a real difference through the spaces we create and manage. Our social impact strategy, SixBySix, aims to maximise our contribution to society and minimise our impact on the environment. The issuance of our first Sustainability Bond fits naturally with SixBySix with the proceeds being used to fund eligible green and social projects."
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Year-to-date change: down 1.5%
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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Assura (AGR)