More than a decade after studying at Cambridge University and qualifying as a chartered accountant, Harry Hyman spotted an opportunity that most of the property industry had overlooked: GP surgeries. He founded Primary Health Properties (PHP) in 1995 with the vision of buying the buildings that housed NHS doctors’ practices and leasing them straight back to those same GPs, a model of government-backed tenants and multi-decade leases that few had thought to scale.

The company listed on London’s junior AIM market within a year and moved to the main market in 1998. PHP then became one of the first companies to convert to the UK’s newly formed REIT (real estate investment trust) regime in 2007, and its 2019 merger with rival MedicX Fund created the largest private owner of primary care property in the UK and Ireland. Today, the company has £6bn in property portfolio value, serves 11 million patients and employs around 150 staff.

Hyman announced in 2022 that he was stepping down as CEO. Mark Davies was brought in to replace him, taking over the job in April 2024, with Hyman moving to a non-executive chair position. The pair have overseen a rare feat of 30 straight years of consecutive dividend growth, as the company has continued to go from strength to strength as a major FTSE 250 player.