Assura is no longer operating as a specialist Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Previously, it owned a portfolio of healthcare facilities in the UK and Ireland. In February 2025, the company announced that it had received several approaches from private equity to acquire the business and delist it from the stock exchange. This opened the door to a subsequent bidding war between the private equity parties, led by KKR and Assura’s publicly listed peer, Primary Health Properties (PHP). The ensuing auction process was both lengthy and competitive, requiring intensive engagement with all parties and their representatives. Our ambition throughout was to ensure our views were clearly communicated to Assura’s management and board, and to deploy our influence in support of an outcome we believed would maximise long-term value for Assura’s investors.
During the engagement process, we met with Assura's management twice and PHP's management three times, and maintained constant communication with the brokers of all three parties. We also wrote twice to the chair of Assura's board. In addition, we issued two press statements – first, stating that the initial private equity approach undervalued the business and highlighting potential sources of value the broader market may have missed; and second, indicating our preference for the proposed combination with Primary Health Properties. Alongside these direct engagements, we also participated in the Investor Forum's collective engagement exercise, which produced valuable insight into the Assura board's decision-making process.
We were pleased when Assura's board, following extensive shareholder discussions with ourselves and others, abandoned its recommendation to accept the private equity-backed offer in favour of PHP's cash-and-share alternative. Not only was this offer worth modestly more than KKR's offer at the time, but it allows us to remain invested for the long term in a larger, more liquid and cost-efficient business that we think could generate compelling forward-looking returns for the fund. Our satisfaction with the equity outcome also gave us confidence to take a position in the credit.
In September 2025, we participated in a collaborative engagement with AstraZeneca via the Investor Forum. This followed media reports that the company's CEO had suggested potentially moving the company's listing from London to New York. Given the potentially significant implications for the UK market, we considered it appropriate to engage. As a relatively small shareholder in AstraZeneca, we judged a collaborative approach was the most effective engagement mechanism.
The engagement sought to clarify the comments, discuss specific issues that would contribute to a decision to move the listing venue, and make the case for the UK market. The Investor Forum drafted a letter, which we reviewed and provided feedback on, and then sent it to the chair of the board. Afterwards, the Investor Forum had a call with the company's IR, during which it was confirmed that shareholders would be consulted on any proposed change of listing venue.
Shortly afterwards, AstraZeneca announced its intention to upgrade its current US equity listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) to a direct listing in New York. We encouraged the Investor Forum to re-engage with the company, and it held a call with the chair of the board. As AstraZeneca will continue to be listed, headquartered and tax resident in the UK following the change, we were comfortable supporting the proposal at the company's general meeting on the topic. The collaborative engagement provided an effective means of communicating shareholders' concerns and views to the company.