DSA owner Peel increases offer for Harworth to £600m as bitter takeover battle takes new twist
Doncaster Sheffield Airport owner Peel has increased its takeover bid for land developer Harworth Group to just under £600m, as a bitter takeover battle continues between the two firms.
Peel has lifted its cash offer for Harworth Group from £583m to £599.77m, as the company said Harworth’s recently launched stratergy to achieve cost savings was "lacking credibility”.
It comes after Rotherham-based Harworth yesterday told shareholders that it can deliver cost savings of “at least” £7.4m.
In a statement issued alongside the updated offer, spokesperson for Peel said: “Harworth’s defence document highlights rather than addresses the issues faced by the company.
“It announced a further decline in NAV [Net Asset Value] and cash flow, while remaining silent on the Company’s short-to-medium term outlook.
“Instead, it flags a new strategy lacking credibility but promising ‘long term’ returns for shareholders. Peel's revised offer provides shareholders with the certainty at completion of a highly attractive cash alternative at a fair price and 40 per cent premium."
In a response, Harworth said it was “evaluating the revised offer with its advisers and a further announcement will be made as appropriate.”
The company added: "In the meantime, Harworth shareholders are strongly advised to take no action in respect of the offer.”
Peel, which is already a long-term investor in Harworth, is seeking to take over the company via a subsidiary called Peel Pepper. The company first launched its bid to take over Harworth at the start of August.
Harworth’s board has since issued a “unanimous and unequivocal” rejection of the bid and urged shareholders to take the same position. The firm also previously described the offer as “highly opportunistic”.
Harworth yesterday published further details of its plan “to accelerate key initiatives that would result in a simpler, lower-cost, higher returning platform”. It said its plan “can deliver higher and more sustainable returns for Harworth shareholders”.
The firm said that by the end of 2028, it expects to achieve annualised cost savings of at least £7.4m. It added that £1.3m has already been realised through reducing headcount this year and £6.9m worth of savings can be delivered by the end of 2027.
Harworth said its £7.4m target represents a 20.4 per cent reduction in the company’s 2025 administrative expenses of £36.3m.
The firm said in a statement yesterday: “The Harworth board aims to exceed the quantified cost savings within the timeframes outlined above, noting that the quantified cost savings exclude further efficiencies and value which the Harworth board believes will arise from the full implementation of Harworth's digital transformation project, which has been implemented over the last two years and is due to complete later this year.
"The timeline for achieving the quantified cost savings is not the same as the timeline for completing Harworth’s transition to a pure play powered land and industrial & logistics specialist.
"The Harworth board believes that costs can be reduced ahead of this transition being complete.
"The Harworth board remains unanimous and unequivocal in its rejection of the unrecommended offer, which, in its view, fundamentally undervalues Harworth and its near and longer-term prospects.”
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Harworth owns, develops and manages more than 14,000 acres of land on around 100 sites across the North and Midlands.