Significant portfolio growth including £191m in investment and development commitments underpinned a solid financial performance for Target Healthcare REIT in the six months ended 31 December 2021.
Annual rental income for the REIT amounted to £9.3m. Revenue rose to £26.5m in the period up from £24.9m in the year earlier with profit before tax up to £18.7m from £15.8m.
Investment activity in the year featured the acquisition of an 18 care home, purpose-built portfolio with wet rooms with 8 tenants, including Barchester, Ideal Carehomes and Priory Care Group.
Speaking to CHP, Kenneth Mackenzie, CEO of Target Fund Managers (pictured), said the enquiry level recovery after the third quarter of last year had been impacted by reduced staff availability in the final quarter due to the rise of the Omicron variant.
“We saw more staff availability in February with more people applying for roles and some improvement in the wage rates being paid so they [provider] are a bit more competitive and beginning to see occupancy grow,” Kenneth said.
“We want to be cautious as to when occupancy will get back to the 90% level and my guess is if that is done by the end of the year we will be in good shape.
“Our feedback is encouraging that when homes advertise for staff they are getting more applicants and there is a better choice and people are willing to come back into the sector.”
