Ashley results reflect ‘difficult market’

Ashley House reported interim pre-tax profit before provisions down 65% percent to £500,000 on gross revenue up one percent to £13.5m. Sir William Wells, chairman, said the results reflected the difficult market conditions in which the company operated, created by the current uncertainty about the future direction of the National Health Service.

However, the completion of Assura’s takeover of Ashley’s asset-owning partner, AH Medical Properties, was expected to result in more than £4m in funds paid to Ashley House. This significantly improved the company’s capital position as well as provided it with a new larger development partner going forward, Sir William said.

“While the short term challenges are likely to persist, with increasing activity on site and a solid pipeline of schemes, the company should return to growth in the longer term.”
Ashley House is currently on site with eight schemes and others are expected to begin shortly and have a forward pipeline of £174m of design-and-build value.