Steady long-term income

Primary Health Properties’ (PHP) 26 April trading update demonstrated several positive developments in the year to date: continued portfolio and rental growth, new long-term financing, a revision of the advisory agreement with Nexus and a higher quarterly dividend (5.25p annualised vs 5.125p in FY16). Long-term demographic trends and broad political will for healthcare reform continue to support the outlook for primary care property in both the UK and Ireland, and PHP’s long and largely government-backed leases underpin an attractive and fully covered dividend, which we expect to continue its 20-year growth trend.